Kevin Bacon is one of the hardest working actors in Hollywood. With over 485 film credits to his name, he always has been.

He’s also the center of the entertainment universe, (or so three “snowed-in” Pennsylvania college students determined in 1994.) They noticed that he seemed to be EVERYWHERE on the tube. They began to wonder who Bacon had worked with - and how many degrees of separation there were between other actors and him. Let’s hear it directly from one of those three inventive young men from a 2012 NPR 3-minute interview about how a cultural phenomenon was birthed:

Kind of fun, kind of funny. And it also has some solid science behind it – most recently from Israel.

We’re all just six degrees of separation (or less) from people, places and things, it truly seems. So, it makes sense that it’s often how fads start, too. People see others wearing things, saying things, and eating things. Two ridiculous and contrived (but funny) examples pop up for me:

1. Seinfeld’s “cutting candy bars” short segment of an episode dealing with trends.
2. Awkward linguistic moments of change.

Let’s start with the latter first: “It’s not in my wheelhouse” AND “It’s been a hot minute”. Wait what? I had never heard either of these expressions until recently. Suddenly, I began hearing them EVERYWHERE by EVERYONE. Where are the origins of these expressions? Who started these odd statements? What’s going on?

The “wheelhouse” comment may have been developed in the 1950’s by baseball game announcers, but the more I dig into that phrase, the more I get the feeling that the “1950’s” connection is AI-generated and not worth further time for me. The key, though, is that it is used as a throw-away expression by people (not me), as in, “I don’t want to investigate the 6-degrees of separation of the Kevin Bacon thing, because it’s not in my wheelhouse.” In other words, “I got better things to do…” Ha.

Well, in the case of the “hot minute” comment, there seems to be a long history, but then again no – since the opposite of the original meaning is understood today. It used to mean a short period of time. Now it’s a looong period of time. The Red Hot Chili Peppers song from 1995 laid it out for listeners:

Yeah, I know…the lyrics are a bit shallow.

But now the expression means a long period of time. Same words. What? I know, it’s crazy, but check this out and determine whether you want to keep using this conflicted term, even if every one of your friends cavalierly uses it.

Now, let’s return to my first point - Seinfeld: Don’t depend solely on the person of Kevin Bacon for how the six degrees of separation applies; it also applies to expressions, to songs, to culture trends…. It may even apply to how one gains social standing… for example: how one handles a fork and knife when eating a Snickers candy bar (or other dessert.)

Check it out from Seinfeld, and bear with the small clip till the end.

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So the question is, what is your degree of separation to the people of your immediate line of sight?

It was with great appreciation that Susan and I were recently invited to meet speaker and author, Eric Metaxas, at a fundraiser for a non-profit public policy organization called the Idaho Family Policy Center.

Years before, my friend and client, Toni Rome, spoke to me about his book, Bonhoeffer, I was wowed! Toni had been so impacted that she’s since put together a landing page, “I am Bonhoeffer” to challenge people of faith to action. Now, years later here I was about to meet the man.

Only a limited number of people were invited to attend this event, since it was held at a residence. Susan and I had a very nice talk with Mr. Metaxas.

We discussed common friends, one of whom was Pat Nolan, former Republican Minority Leader of the CA Assembly now living in Arizona, and a long-time champion for prison reform. Eric smiled at the mention of Pat’s name, saying nice things about their past together. He also signed one of his own books that Susan and I brought to the event. We settled in for an evening of rigorous, conservative talk… and then a Q&A period at the end. It was a terrific evening.

As much as Mr. Metaxas spoke about the three major epochs of time in America’s history – The Revolutionary War, the Civil War and the 2024 General Election possibility of President Trump (which has NOW come true) – I found myself keyed into how it was that Eric Metaxas has become a type of Kevin Bacon example of the six degrees of separation concept. How did it unfold? What is the fruit of his connectedness to the nation through men like Chuck Colson, Pat Nolan and Donald Trump? What “candy bar” is he cutting his fork and knife with?

In a 2017 article in iPriority Metaxas put it this way:

Finally, Metaxas stated during that interview,

Since 2017, Eric Metaxas has become a cultural spokesman, author, podcaster and intellectual influencer. And he’s not slowing down.

The immediate connection to Eric Metaxas began by our friends, Zack and Megan Deboi, taking the time to invite us to this event. They were key supporters of my 2022 race for Idaho Senate and knew of my interest in Metaxas’s intellectual impact on the issues of today. He and Jordan Petersen are point men in today’s debate on economic and cultural issues.

The OVERALL flow allowing our meeting had a bit more to it.

1. CA Assemblyman and GOP Minority Leader Pat Nolan impacted my life in 1984.
2. A young Eric Metaxas worked with Pat Nolan years ago.
3. My friend and client, Toni Rome, introduced me to Metaxas’s literary work.
4. Blaine Conzatti invited Eric to Idaho to speak.
5. Zack and Megan invited us to attend and meet Eric.
6. I squared the circle and met Eric - inviting him to see Pat in AZ.

Six degrees of separation.

That’s all there is to it. And when the connections bear fruit, it is vital for all of us to thank people for helping us become connected to others. So, thank you Pat, Toni, Blaine, Zack, and now, Eric.

Who are you inviting into your life today? How are you making space for others to be networked into your contacts and friends? My example of Pat Nolan to Toni Rome, Eric Metaxas to Blaine Conzatti, Zack Deboi to Susan and me is just one vignette of life. There are many more in each of our lives, if we’ll examine ourselves and our friends’ connectivity. (Just don’t start eating Snickers with a fork and knife…)

And now, I suppose, the final connection is with President-elect Donald Trump.

We’re all connected, if we’ll look for the linkage between ourselves and others.

The six degrees of separation may, in fact, be far less than that number in your own life.

Den's Latest & Greatest

• Take time to see how the six degrees of separation works. This BBC documentary is truly remarkable. It’s a tad long (47 minutes) and REALLY worth your time to watch tonight. Pop up some popcorn and watch it. It is mind blowing.
• Test yourself on this example: how many degrees of separation are you from Kevin Beacon? Please send me your linkage.
• Test yourself again. Since I brought up Eric Metaxas, tell me how many degrees of separation you are from him!
• Test me. Ask me about someone well known in America, whom you have never met and who is alive today, and I’ll see how many degrees I am from that person. I’ll get back to you in an email.
• Realize that you are exactly where God wants you, and all those within your sphere of relationship need you to be ALL there, right now.