The Crains

When I lived in Germany and taught for the University of Maryland's European Division, there were about half a dozen of us who hung out together in and around Nürnberg: Chris and Gina Stevens, Chuck and Ruth Vergara, Barbara Rips, me. Barbara (who was born in Germany and taught German) wound up moving to Heidelberg, where Maryland's European Division headquarters was (and still is) located, and marrying American-born English teacher Tom Crain. They later had a lovely daughter, Vanessa, and moved to the US, where Barbara still works — now in an administrative role — for the U of Maryland.

When Tom turned 40, Barbara threw him a surprise party. I was in Ohio by then and drove to Maryland for the festivities. Mingling at the party, I introduced myself to a couple who'd also taught overseas. When I mentioned that I'd spent some time in Bahrain in the early '80s, they exclaimed, "Oh, the best man at our wedding was there then!" Since Bahrain's a tiny place and most of the Americans who lived there knew each other, I took a chance and asked them what his name was. They looked at each other and laughed. "We say 'best man,'" they explained, "because that's what you say. But actually she was a woman." "Man, woman," I said, "it doesn't make any difference. If she was there when I was there, the odds are I knew her. What's her name?" So one of these folks mentioned a name and asked me if I'd ever run into her. "As a matter of fact," I said, reaching into my pocket and pulling out my wallet and flipping it open, "this is her daughter." Can you join me in a chorus of "It's a Small World, After All"?

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