I had a funny experience last night. I was loading in footage from an Eddie Condon tribute which featured Johnny Mercer and Billy Butterfield, the jazz trumpeter.
I had a teacher in the 6th grade named Butterfield and my mom always used to joke that he must be related to Billy. I decided to look up Billy's obit, and sure enough, he had a son that lived in the small town where I lived when I went to 6th grade. I did a white pages search, found a phone number, and, hoping that the person I was calling wouldn't think I was crazy, dialed it. I figured that this is footage most people wouldn't be likely to have, and if it was MY dad, I sure would want it.
A lady answered the phone, and at first she had that "telemarketer" voice, but after she realized that I didn't want to sell her anything, she was very nice. She said that her husband was visiting his brother but would want to talk to me and gave me the brother's number. I called, and my teacher answered (he has a very distinctive voice that I recognized immediately) and I explained who I was and why I was calling. He was very excited about the prospect of seeing the footage, so if the person who gave it to me says it's OK, I will send them each a copy.
What a coinky-dink!