I’ll just start today by assuring you that I’m not Kristen Carson, the soccer star. You can look her up if you want, but it ain’t me.

I’m also not Kristen Carson, the owner of kristencarson.com. That’s some chick in Texas who owns the domain and isn’t interested in selling it, though all she’s done with it so far is save it in a drawer like an extra rubber band.

So, how about you? Who else is out there, sharing your name? Are you a Jim Smith, and this sort of thing happens all the time? Or is your name so odd, it would be a small thrill to find somebody who matches it?

Tell me your tales.

Sharing a name with somebody can be mindblowing. Sharing your name, your city and even your age might land you in scenes that you’d love to watch in the movies but not live through.

Wes Moore of Baltimore learned of Wes who lived a few blocks over. The similarities and differences between Wes and his namesake amounted to enough material for a book, The Other Wes Moore.

Here’s the idea:

One Wes ended up in a dorm room here:

Oxford University

Oxford University

And the other Wes landed here:

Prison cell

It could easily have gone the other way around.

Moore’s book is the closest I’ll get to touring the ghetto. It’s my standing-on-the-street-corner look at ‘tween boys who make enough money to wear new sneakers every day.

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Corn chowder is a dish that could Google itself and find a lot of namesakes out there.

In truth, I could eat a helping of every one of them, but the one closest to my heart today is Ramen Corn Chowder.

ramen corn chowder blog ready

You’d think we’d all be setting soup aside on account of the onslaught of warm days. But where I live, yesterday’s balmy sunshine just turned into today’s teeth-chattering wind.

No, no, save your pity. It’s happened three times this week. I’m getting used to it.

A bowl of chowder is my way to make the best of all this weather-shock.