One of my best friends, Brian, from college brought me to Oren’s Hummus Shop for lunch in downtown Mountain View on Castro St. The highlight of the lunch was catching up with an old friend.
The next best thing was when my neighbor, Anna, sat down at the table next to ours. What a pleasant surprise! I just saw Anna last week when she stopped by my house to let us know that the dome light of our car was on.
Running into random people you know on the street is one of the many things that makes this area feel like a small town in the middle of Silicon Valley. We become friends as neighbors, parents, and co-workers. Parents connect with other parents because we spend so much time at our kids’ activities like school, sports, dance, etc.
Connections are also made at work and they last well after people leave their jobs. I once ran into a former co-worker from 3COM in downtown Mountain View. It was the first time I had seen him in over 10 years because he was in the Chicago office at the time.
I wish I had taken a picture of the three of us at lunch today, but we were too busy eating and catching up! Anyway, chances are, we might run into each other again soon in the Mayberry of Silicon Valley.