Thursday, July 17, 2014

From the "Small World" Department

For about three weeks now, we have seen yellow jackets coming and going from an expansion joint between bricks, right beside our front door. I briefly considered spraying them myself, but after reading about them on the spray can and on the web, I decided it was best left to professionals. Yellow jackets, it seems, can get very angry when you disturb their nests. Since this one is up off the ground about 10 feet and requires a person to go down 12 steps to the ground, it would be nearly impossible for a person my age to get out of the way fast enough to dodge a stream of angry insects. 

We called the same pest control company we'd had experience with in our old home, and the guy came out this morning. Mr. K wished to speak to him, so I invited him in. After a few minutes conversation, we discovered that he is from NY, in a place not far from where Mr. K grew up and they have had some similar experiences. Both sang in school choirs, both sang at St. Patrick's Cathedral and the pest control guy went on to sing in the chorus of the Metropolitan Opera House, as well as singing for a Pope in Rome. He gave us a little example; singing a small part in Italian that he remembered.  How fun is that???  He has a beautiful baritone singing voice. 

Another interesting coincidence is that he also services a woman with our last name, and he asked if we were related to her. We are not, but her son and daughter-in-law live in our former neighborhood, and we met her about 3 years ago. He is scheduled to go to her home later today.  

He told us that he has been in Raleigh about 28-9 years, and I wanted to ask how (and why) he got into the pest control business, but there wasn't time. It made me think, however, of how judging a person by what they do (or how they look) makes one lose sight of the real person inside - and how interesting they can be, if you only take the time to look beyond first appearances. 


7 comments:

OldLady Of The Hills said...

How amazing is that,Judy......
A real "Small World" department....!

Eddie said...

It is amazing what hidden talents people carry with them, and the Small World is no longer amazing

Granny Annie said...

Is he the exterminator who rid you of the bees that invaded our walls in your old home? I often recall that harrowing tale.

kenju said...

Annie, when we had bees, we hired a bee keeper to get them out so they wouldn't be killed. He was not an exterminator.

Arkansas Patti said...

Makes one realize that there are interesting stories in everyone. Interesting how his life was interwoven with Mr. K's.
Think of all those customers who never got to hear him sing.

Ginnie said...

I love it .. a pest exterminator who sings opera !!
Also, happy birthday to your daughter ...born on the 15th... while I have one son July 3 and the next July 18th...could be her bookends!

Gilly said...

Fancy finding a lovely man to sing to you! ;) Its amazing how many coincidences there are when you really start talking to people!

Your yellow jackets look remarkably like either our wasps or hornets. I must google them and find out! Either name, they are ferocious beasts if annoyed!