Just Write Communications
  • Home
  • Contact Us
  • News
  • Clients
  • Testimonials
  • Writing Tips
  • Weekly Chuckle
  • Meals We Steal
  • Bad Golf

How I Met Dave Simon

9/9/2018

2 Comments

 
​How we meet people is random. How we meet people who have the same name is even more random.
 
Recently talking with a friend about this subject, we discussed how you get thrown into a room with a college roommate, and often become friends for life. Who would have thought that beforehand? “Oh, when I go to college, my roommate and I will be friends for the next 50 years. I can just feel it.”
 
No. Instead, you go to college not knowing what to expect. You don’t know if you’ll like each other. You don’t know if you’ll stay in touch after you graduate, if you graduate. It’s fascinating to consider how people are thrown into our lives, and whether we keep those people close to us over the years.
 
I met my namesake Dave Simon over 30 years ago. It’s a good story.
 
At the time I was a journalist in Washington, D.C. I reported on EPA, and spent time in the building interviewing officials, digging up reports, going to press briefings and researching issues. Part of that meant spending time in the EPA docket room to look at proposed regulations and the comments on them.
 
During the first year or two in that job, I heard a woman who worked there say over the phone, “Hey, we’re meeting Dave Simon this weekend. Want to come with us?” Something like that anyway. It was the name that made me stick around.

As she hung up, I said, “You know a Dave Simon? That’s my name.”

“Yes, we went to school together,” she replied, elaborating on the school, what Dave did for a living and that he played in a local men’s baseball league. I didn’t think much of any of this until I began playing in the league as well.  There are a lot of Dave Simon’s in the world, so maybe I was destined to meet one.

At some point after that, during infield practice for our team in the league, I heard someone from first base yell across to me, “Hey Dave.”

“What?,” I responded.
 
“Not you. I mean Dave Simon,” he yelled back.
 
“That’s me,” I said, looking around, then realizing Dave Simon was right next to me, fielding grounders and shooting them over to first. We laughed, shook hands, introduced ourselves, and a long-term friendship was born.
 
Having the same name doesn’t ensure you’ll get along. But there’s enough craziness in both us Dave’s to have kept us in touch over all those years since, occasionally talking on the phone, emailing and once in a great while getting to see each other in person and enjoy the face-to-face time.
 
We’re separated by distance, but either of us could pick up the phone and we’d sync up within minutes regarding our respective lives. Friendships are to cherish. Sometimes we may even find someone with the same name and that we have much in common.
 
Meeting people, even someone with your name is random. It’s not given you’ll be friends or like that person. But if you do, it’s worth keeping that person in your life. It’s one of life’s little treasures
2 Comments
Jay Shattuck
9/10/2018 07:05:15 pm

It's interesting to see other people with the same name as your own. Mine is fairly unusual given the spelling... Jay Dee is my first name. There are several with the exact same spelling. One is women on the east coast. I googled Dustin a few years ago and there was another Dustin Ryan Shattuck, his age also on the east coast.

Reply
Dave Simon link
9/11/2018 06:24:52 am

Yeah, I can't imagine there are too many Jay Dee Shattuck's in the world. Probably thousands of Dave Simon's.

Reply



Leave a Reply.

    Archives

    April 2022
    March 2022
    February 2022
    January 2022
    December 2021
    November 2021
    October 2021
    September 2021
    August 2021
    July 2021
    June 2021
    May 2021
    April 2021
    March 2021
    February 2021
    January 2021
    December 2020
    November 2020
    October 2020
    September 2020
    August 2020
    July 2020
    June 2020
    May 2020
    April 2020
    March 2020
    February 2020
    January 2020
    December 2019
    November 2019
    October 2019
    September 2019
    August 2019
    July 2019
    June 2019
    May 2019
    April 2019
    March 2019
    February 2019
    January 2019
    December 2018
    November 2018
    October 2018
    September 2018
    August 2018
    July 2018
    June 2018
    May 2018
    April 2018
    March 2018
    February 2018
    January 2018
    December 2017
    November 2017
    October 2017
    September 2017
    August 2017
    July 2017
    June 2017
    May 2017
    April 2017
    March 2017
    February 2017
    January 2017
    December 2016
    November 2016
    October 2016
    September 2016
    August 2016
    July 2016
    June 2016
    May 2016
    April 2016
    March 2016
    February 2016
    January 2016
    December 2015
    November 2015
    October 2015
    September 2015
    August 2015
    July 2015
    June 2015
    May 2015
    April 2015
    March 2015
    February 2015
    January 2015
    December 2014
    November 2014
    October 2014
    September 2014
    August 2014
    July 2014
    June 2014
    May 2014
    April 2014
    March 2014
    February 2014
    January 2014
    December 2013
    November 2013
    October 2013

    Categories

    All

Proudly powered by Weebly