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In 2012, I knew very little about
James, one of my colleagues at a
company in Boston where we
worked. James’ specialty is creating
websites that people find appealing
and easy to use.
In my role, I would not normally be
involved in the details of James and his
team. However, we found ourselves
collaborating closely for a few weeks
on a small project. One morning, dur-
ing that period, James broadcast an e-
mail that he was not feeling well, did-
n’t want to infect others and therefore
would be working from home. He
would be available by cell phone as
needed. He provided his number,
which contained a 207 area code.
I returned an email, recognizing the
207 as the area code for Maine, ask-
ing James if he was from there. I told
him that I had spent a considerable
amount of time in Maine and looked
forward to talking with him about it
when he returned to the office.
James didn’t wait until his return to
the office. He responded immediately
that he was born and raised in Brew-
er, Maine. In my comeback, I told him
of a prominent family I knew in Ban-
gor, the neighboring town to Brewer. I
also mentioned friends, originally from
Princeton, that had settled in
Brunswick becoming involved in the
local community and Bowdoin Univer-
sity, which two of their children had
attended. James did not know of the
family in Bangor. However, he did
attend and graduated from Bowdoin.
I then asked James if he had heard
the news from a couple days before
about the female graduate from Bow-
doin, Hilary Strasburger, who was
traveling in Africa. On one leg of her
journey she took a ferry in Tanzania
from the port of Dar es Salaam to
Zanzibar.
The ferry capsized in rough seas on
the Indian ocean. Nearly 150 people
drowned. The ferry’s captain was
warned not to sail. Although there
were about 250 on the manifest, the
boat was packed with as many as 400
people. Hilary, was able to escape
through a window and swam to the
safety of a rescue boat.
We have known Hilary, now 30,
since birth. She is the daughter of our
close friends, Carrie and Frank Stras-
burger, who have been featured in
this column in previous articles.
Very few Americans heard about
this tragedy as opposed to the South
Korean ferry and Italian cruise ship dis-
asters, which received so much media
coverage. I encourage you to do a
web search and read Frank’s op ed,
published in the Washington Post,
May 9, 2014, “Why Do We Care
About Some People and Not Others?”
James responded that he had been
following this situation closely. He was
more interested than most Bowdoin
alums. His fiancé, Julia, was Hilary’s
roommate at Bowdoin. James left the
company but we have stayed in touch
and celebrated together at Hilary’s
wedding a couple of years later.
WHY DO WE CONNECT WITH
SOME PEOPLE AND NOT OTHERS?
By: Dan Rosenberg
PAGE 50
Tie The Knot