How often...

I’ve had a few of those crazy coincidences over the years. I grew up in Canton, Ohio and there were two brothers that lived a few doors away. Then working, in the 1960’s, I went to Douglas, AZ, a nowhere smelter town on the Mexican border. I saw a new gun shop and went in to check it out. And guess who the owner’s were. I thought it was an extraordinary coincidence that I would run into them in a place like Douglas.

Another time in the early 60’s I was driving in Phoenix and a guy kept pulling alongside me and staring at me. So I pulled off onto a side street to see what his problem was. He followed me and we both got out and he said “Is your name Fryer?” I said yes and he said “I’d know that Fryer nose anywhere, do you know a Bus Fryer”. And I said, yes, he’s my uncle. It turns out he owned a local trophy shop but many years before had played semi-pro ball with my uncle in Canton. I never thought my nose was unique, but then maybe I’m just not very observant.:D

Then just a couple of years ago I hired a couple of guys to extend and enclose my carport into a garage. In a conversation with one of them we found he lived very close to me on the other side of town and we hit the same bars. No biggie, but then we discovered he grew up in a little farm town about 10 miles NO me in Ohio. And we could discuss the same hangouts there.

Another oddity, one morning some years ago I got an email saying my tickets to the theater were confirmed - in Denver. I replied and told them thanks for the confirmation, but I was in Phoenix and didn’t think I could get there in time for the show. They followed up and said the wrong Ron Fryer – that’s right. That was followed by another email from the right RF and in the conversation I found he was the son of my cousin in Dayton.

So I guess the saying “it’s a small world” isn’t far off. None of these are really RV related, but I don’t usually camp around many people so I don’t get many opportunities for that sort of thing camping.

Wife and I are both from So. Calif.... While we were sentenced ( I mean STATIONED) in Norfolk, VA, we were at a ship's Christmas party.... across the room from us, was a lady that went to high school with my wife. Definitely a small world.

This is not RV related but falls in line with the thread topic.


A few years ago, a few friends and I planned a surf trip down to Panama (not Florida, actually Panama). The trip consisted of flying into Panama City, then taking a chartered bus ride 6 hours north and west to a very remote area on the north coast of Panama. From there, we got on a boat and it was about an hour boat ride to an island where the surf camp is. Spent 1 1/2 weeks there, leaving the camp and took the hour ride back to the port. While back at the port, my friend heard a guy talking, who was not with our party, and said he thought he recognized the voice. Turns out this guy used to be my friends immediate next door neighbor from 3 years ago.

It was very odd but a situation/story I will never forget.

Per our campground manager, 90% of the campers that stay in this county campground are from the same county. We camp at the same place every weekend, and I've never NOT recognized at least one family. I like the familiarity.

Our HS is "Rebels" too so I had to double check your location to see if WE were neighbors ;)

We camp about 40 minutes away and it's common to realize that a good portion of the campground is folks from "back home." Sometimes we say it's just a big pep rally :)

One trip at a state park about 2 hours from our home - it's in the middle of nowhere, and we were one of only 8 sites being used. At least four of us were from the same town. We knew one of the sites as they are friends of friends. Another one came up to me because the front license plate was a vanity one from our town, and another came up because he saw the sticker from the yacht club we both belong to.

Got to run this by too....oldest daughter lives in Cincinnati Ohio, her family just went to a Nascar truck dirt track race a couple of weeks ago and seen a family camping there with all the USC stuff (she said you name it, it had USC on it) they went and questioned the family about where they were from seeing my daughter is a grad of USC, come to find out they were from our town too.....had to laugh cause I think of the people from here not really getting out to travel. We are transplants to this place thanks to Uncle Sam.

As a matter of fact....had not one but two meet ups with people that had connections to this town we live in just last week. We were at Tom Johnson's RV & CG in Marion, NC when this one guy passed us as we were getting out of our truck. The truck window has US Air Force Retired sticker on the window and front tag, he stopped his truck and asked my husband about his service. Come to find out his wife was from our town and her family lives about 2 miles from us. This guy was stationed at the base is how he met his wife, he knew exactly where we were talking about. Then one of the salesman over heard and mentioned hey my in laws live there too, a couple of miles away from us also......small world.

Several years ago while camping in Rocky Mountain National Park, we happened to park next to a trailer identical to ours. After we set up we talked about our identical trailers and the similar mods we had done. When we introduced ourselves, he said "Oh, your last name is the same as my mother's maiden name" (not a common name). Turns out we are distantly related. Now we are good friends.

Ran into peope from the same suburb of Cincy we live in on our way to Florida last year staying at the same campground in Chattanooga. We didn't know them but my Daughter went to school with their grandson.