Earthy people in a small world

I knew retired U.S. Navy Capt. Charlie Plumb's name was familiar, I just couldn't remember why, until a reader helped me out.

Plumb, a prisoner of war with John McCain in Vietnam, was in Cape Girardeau on Friday as part of a campaign event that I covered.

The reader, who goes by the nickname "Wisconsin" on the Southeast Missourian's website, noted that Plumb is a motivational speaker and had written a book about his experiences as a Vietnam prisoner of war. He posted some links to Plumb's website, www.charlieplumb.com, and there I found the name of the book, "I'm No Hero."

I'd never met Plumb, but had learned about him almost one year ago, after tracking down the brother of another man who served in Vietnam, Alan Piittmann -- I wore a bracelet with his name on it years ago, and wrote a blog about him for the last Veterans Day. That blog led to a phone conversation with Alan's brother Delman Piitt-mann -- a Vietnam vet -- who in turn told me his life changed after seeing Charlie Plumb speak many years ago.

Small world, eh?

The next day, my good friend Dale Gagnon called from Michigan to announce the birth of her third grandson (Note to my own kids -- my grandmalogical clock is ticking ever louder.)

Dale also wanted to find out which paper I worked for, because she'd just met someone from the Bootheel: Elizabeth Sykes of Cape Girardeau.

Turns out Sykes, 27, an assistant manager for Bank of America, is in Michigan through Friday to train some folks there on the bank's computer system. She'd never been to the Mitten State before, though her grandfather used to live there, she said in a phone interview.

As we spoke, her GPS bubbled with directions to get her from Warren, a city I used to live and work in, to Dearborn, where I had my first radio job -- to meet another Cape Girardeau native, Christine Schneider. The two women have been friends and coworkers for a long time, but Schneider is now based in Columbia, Mo. She is also leading training sessions in Michigan, which Sykes learned from an e-mail.

Sykes had her first-ever international experience, driving across the Ambassador Bridge, which links Detroit with Windsor, Ontario.

She was so excited about entering a foreign nation, she said, laughing, that when the border patrol agent asked where she lived, "I just pointed behind me and said, 'Back there.'"

What struck her most about Canada, she said, is "it's not a whole new world. It's not like being in London or Indonesia, where the culture is completely different. It's almost like an extension of the United States."

Except Canadian sentences are often punctuated with "eh?" and malls close at 6 p.m. on Saturdays. A Canadian woman quizzed Sykes about American politics.

"She asked who I was voting for in the election and I told her I hadn't made up my mind. She said, 'We're watching this election. We know more about this than our own government right now,'" Sykes said.

Schneider's biggest cross-cultural experience was Sweetest Day. If you've never heard of this holiday, you've never been in Michigan on the third Saturday of October -- the tradition started more than 80 years ago with candy makers in Cleveland. But a few local folks did something sweet for everyone Saturday, heading out to a plot of land near exit 102 on Interstate 55 to add a few more day lilies to Dave Niswonger's beautification project.

Bonnie Kipper and Debbie Smith of the Rose Hill Garden Club spent part of Thursday separating the plants.

"It was fun to do. I think it's a great project," Kipper said.

Questions, suggestions or tips for Lost on Main Street? E-mail pmcnichol@semissourian.com or call 388-3646.