The Sixth Degree

I  really like the kids on my basketball squad this year! My student coach this season is a young lady, Marie Bailey, who is a good player and a great role model to the little ones! The following is about another of my student assistants, Brandon Greene. It is from August 17, 2006.

The name of the game is Six Degrees of Kevin Bacon. Devised by three college friends in the 1990's , the contest is based on the premise that any actor can be linked in six steps or less to Bacon who has had roles in close to sixty movies, including Footloose and Apollo 13. Below is an example, taken from the website www.geocities.com:
Carrie Fisher was in Star Wars with
Harrison Ford who was in The Fugitive with
Tommie Lee Jones who was in Batman Forever with
Val Kilmer who was in Heat with
Robert DiNiro who was in Sleepers with
Kevin Bacon.
The idea for the game originated in a 1929 story entitled Chains, by a Hungarian author. The tale revolves around a belief that has since been explored both mathematically and sociologically: anyone on earth can be linked in between five and seven steps. It would go something like this; A knows B who knows C who knows D, etc., and by the time you get to no later than G, a connection can be made between any two human beings. It is an interesting theory that has often been researched and disputed. In fact, this fall, ABC will unveil a new drama based loosely on the theorem called, what else, Six Degrees.

We have an interesting phenomenon going on in my middle school girls' basketball program at Westbury Christian as we begin the new school year. See if you can guess the link.
Two years ago, my student assistant coach was Amber Glenn whose seventh grade Homecoming date/escort was Brandon Greene.
Last year, my student assistant was Brandon Greene.
This year, my student assistant , until a schedule conflict interfered, was Tara Rodgers, former girlfriend of Brandon Greene.
When Tara was unable to coach, she was replaced by my new student assistant, Christian Chevis, whose current boyfriend is Brandon Greene.
Did you catch the pattern? In a small school, it is impossible not to have overlapping connections with the same people. This can create both incredible closeness and immense awkwardness. I think that is how Christianity has always been spread most effectively, through the ties and bonds we all share. The first apostles had common connections in family, in trade, and in hometown. I don't believe that was accidental. I joke with three of our students, the Keese girls, that we are related. This is how it goes. Their aunt Pam and my sister-in-law Sally are first cousins so Katie-Kristi-Kellie Keese are cousins to the cousins of my nieces and nephews. It may be confusing but it is a connection and connections can almost always open doors. I told the story of our basketball team to my fifth period class. Two of my students sitting adjacent to each other on the back row began to laugh. The pair are great girls, Veronica Fontenot and Lauren Lyman, who just happen to be the former girlfriends of....you guessed it, Brandon Greene.

Applicable quote of the day:
"There are two types of actors; those who say they want to be famous and those who are liars."
Kevin Bacon

PS: At the 2009 WCS  graduation I ran into Brandon again. He was there with his NEW girlfriend, Jackie Marini, who was once on the WCS cheerleading squad with...the aforementioned Christian Chevis!

God bless,
Steve (former Bible teacher of ...Brandon Greene)
Luke 18:1
www.hawleybooks.com
E-mail me at steve@hawleybooks.com