Meet Virginia...

Dear Frigyes Karinthy,

I’ve had a recent experience in the office that can only be describe as a manifestation of your theory of six degrees of separation with a post 20^th Century cyber-twist and a heap o’crazy thrown on for good measure. Let me see if I might properly explain.

Yesterday afternoon, the VP of my group popped over to the section of the cube farm where in our suite I, along with my fellow cohorts in crime, reside. With a rather odd grin on his face and with great earnestness in his voice he inquired of me, “Was there ever a Virginia Gilmore who worked here?”

 “Ummm. That name sounds vaguely familiar.” I responded. “Why do you ask?”

“Well. She says that you claim that you’re the devil.” he chuckled.

“Excuse me?” I replied with curiosity growing in my voice.

“She sent an email to a VP in our Texas office stating that you claim you’re the devil and you’re using your devil’s numbers in the cakes you make.” he laughed.

“Oooooh-kay.” I chuckled in return.

“Come to my office. You can read it for yourself.” he replied with a glint of mischievousness in his eye.

We made our way to his office tout de suite and when I plopped my derriere in his executive chair I was greeted with following message:

It’s very important that I should report to you about Arlington Office in va.
I don’t believe this happening in the office don’t work for [company name omitted] anymore.
I can only trust you in the past you took action and you are very straight forward person and I really admire you.
e. claim that he is a Devil he used some kind of Devil number’s on people in our office on cakes and grapes and he use light bulb.
The key people for him are [coworker’s names omitted]
You have to investigate and find out the fact on your own what is the real story behind this.
He has something that can tease men using women.
They are playing some kind of game and please do not contact me back
Good Luck!

“Oh my.” I gasped as I turned toward my boss after reading the message, “It appears I have far greater a number of powers than for which I give myself credit or that I am aware.”

“It would appear.” he laughed.

“Can you forward this to me?” I asked, “I’d like to see if I can trace its origin.”

“Sure thing.” he grinned.

He and I returned to cube land and had a good chuckle with the rest of our group for about 20 minutes discussing the message and wondering who might have sent it and wondering why it was sent to a VP in another group half a continent away.

Of course being the ever curious type, as we were discussing the email and laughing I did a google search of the name Virginia Gilmore and discovered there was an actress from the classic period of film with the same name. I chuckled at a bit of cosmic irony I came across in her bio on Wikipedia apparently she was leader in AA later in her life.

However, it was with the next google search I performed that the tangled threads of the cosmic web began to weave themselves into the strangest tapestry of six degrees of separation. Curious as to why the email might have been sent to a VP in our account  services division I did a quick google search of her name. In a strange moment of cosmic coincidence, I discovered from her LinkedIn profile that she worked for many years at the same financial services company where my sister was recently RIFed and during my sister’s tenure with the same company. The hair on the back of my neck came to attention as I read this in her LI profile.

I shot the sis a quick email this morning asking her if she remember this VP explaining that she’d gotten a rather strange email about me and about an hour later she replied that the name sounded vaguely familiar. She also shared with me yet another cosmic coincidence in that at the same time there was an employee at the same company with my name. While reading this detail, the twilight zone theme began to queue up in my cranium.

Yet another detail in this cosmic alphabet soup that intrigued me was the user name for the email address that was used to contact the VP—gvirginia54. Thinking perhaps the 54 in the user name might be the route number for a Virginia State Highway, I quickly googled “Virginia 54” and indeed received a return for the wikipage for a highway in Virginia with that number.

Okay here’s where it gets really weird (As if it might get any weirder. Right?). Virginia State Route 54 is known for most of the way as Patrick Henry Road, a portion of which leads to the estate of the highway’s eponym. The thoroughfare on which MMRFRO lives is eponymous in the same manner. And a month ago, I sent him an invitation requesting we get together for a hike over the weekend.  And of course so as not to disappoint, he didn’t show.

Pity!

Then this afternoon, I get an email from a company that provides training for massage CEUs and where are they located? Ashland, Virginia the city that bisects State Highway 54 into east and west Patrick Henry Road.

Methinks the Universe is f*cking with me.

What are your thoughts?