Nicholson Sisters (and Brother Bob)

There are some families you can’t escape. 

For a while it seemed I couldn’t turn around without having a Reddin sister involved in my life: one is married to Kevin, another recruited me to speak at a dieticians conference, and yet another is a member of the PEI Crafts Council.  You can also count Reddin mother (a well-regarded home economist who helped me on a project when we first moved here) and Reddin brother (who was the NDP candidate in our district a few elections back).  And I think he’s the same brother who used to be married to the woman who contracted with Catherine to construct a sculptural sign for her translation business, but that might be another brother still.

Then it was the MacEacherns.  First came Frank, who I met through Catherine Hennesey by virtue of his work in GIS.  Then Frank’s brother in law Derek became my accountant.  Then another brother, Dave, contacted me about doing a website for him.  Then Derek (the accountant) and his wife Bonnie (the MacEachern) moved across the street from Alf Hennessey (the former Mr. Catherine Hennessey) where something of a neighbourly pesticide battle ensued.  The final connection here is that Frank used to be in business with Percy Simmons; later Percy went to work with Cam Beck (who used to work for Scott Linkletter, who I later worked for) and Cam then went on to facilitate a Jive Kings Conference I attended (see below).

Now it’s the Nicholsons. 

Susan is married to Perry Williams, who I met first because he was teaching computers to junior school students, second because we always ended up going to the same auction sales, third because he lives up the road from Barrett & MacKay, and finally because we hired him at the Land Trust to put together a CD for us.  When Oliver was born, Susan arranged for us to borrow an infant car seat from her sister.  Her sister turned out to be Sandy Nicholson, who, among many other things, lives off the grid in De Sable, is married to Dale Sorenen (who plays trombone, but is not in the Jive Kings), and who met Catherine and Oliver through a La Leche League meeting here in Charlottetown.  Sandy is also involved in the Doula Association of PEI with Sylvie Aresnault, who was our doula. Following on, there is Bob Nicholson, who oddly enough also plays trombone (and is in the Jive Kings), and who currently lives in the house formerly owned and occupied by Catherine Hennessey.  I met Bob at a big Jive Kings Conference last year.

If you really want to get funky, follow this trail: Sandy and Sylvie are both doulas.  Sylvie also does bookkeeping work for Peter Lux at ECHO.  Peter Lux used to fish down east and it’s from those days that he knows Ann Thurlow.  Ann Thurlow used to work at the CBC.  Mac Campbell also used to work at the CBC.  Mac Campbell is now working with Perry Williams on video projects.  Perry is married to Susan who is sister of Sandy.  Now start at the beginning of this paragraph to loop through again.

I fully suspect that there are other Nicholson’s out there.  And I’m placing even odds on Oliver and Riley (daughter of Sandy and Dale) meeting in a smoky bar in Hong Kong in 25 years, falling in love and getting married.  And then only figuring out their connectness early in their lives.