That guy(s)

We all know at least one "that guy" - the person who you don't really know but somehow mange to see and/or hear about all the time.

Back in Ithaca there was one particular "that guy" I used to see at the grad student happy hours, out at Latin dancing events, and here and there about the Cornell campus. He is someone that most people would probably remember - a tall guy with curly shoulder length blond hair and light eyes who often sported long West African or South Asian tunic-style shirts. Somewhere along the way someone told me he was Haitian. I had been in Haiti long enough to know that he very well could be (I know more than one blond hair blue eyed Haitian) but never actually confirmed...

Well, as of last night, this particular "that guy" has risen to the status of having an actual family-given name in my mind. I ran into him at a restaurant in Peitonville last night (see post above). Turns out he returned to Haiti 7 months ago to start a plant breeding research lab.

In related news from yesterday, I discovered that another "that guy" (who by chance is also tall and blond) who I saw from a distance last week in my neighbors' apartment is actually from my home town of Palatine, IL, is the son of one of the pastors of a church I used to visit by my parents' old house, and is the brother of a guy I knew of in college. I haven't actually met him in person yet - just emails to confirm identity.

How did "that guy (#2)"'s identity get revealed? Well, two days ago I reconnected with a friend on Facebook who I had met in Rwanda back in 2004 or 2005. He saw I was in Haiti and mentioned that he knew "a guy" - then proceeded to provide enough details to let me figure he was actually talking about "that guy" (#2) .... Confused? No worries. I'm finding it a little hard to follow myself.