Six Degrees of Me: A Playful Thought Experiment on Connection

You’ve probably heard of the “Six Degrees of Kevin Bacon” game — that pop culture classic where people try to link any actor to Kevin Bacon in six steps or fewer. It’s a goofy but strangely compelling way to explore how interconnected we all are, especially in the entertainment world.

But what if we took that same idea… and replaced Kevin Bacon with, well, me?

Welcome to Six Degrees of Me — a personal remix of the original concept, rooted in the belief that we’re all closer than we think.

So, what is it?

The premise is simple: Anyone on Earth can be connected to me through six or fewer social connections. Maybe you know me personally. Maybe you know someone who’s worked with me. Maybe your cousin's college roommate once shared a cab with me at 2 a.m. in Adams Morgan. Maybe we both stood in line for empanadas at a Columbia Heights block party and didn’t even realize it.

The “game” isn’t really about me, though — it’s about how weirdly intertwined our lives are. It’s about tracing the invisible web that links strangers and friends, cities and stories, everyday interactions and once-in-a-lifetime moments.

Why Me?

Nowadays, every person is the center of their own universe. “Main character” is an ever pervasive, and wildly pernicious, topic displayed on social media posts across all platforms. For this edition of The BBB, I will use myself as an example to get things started.

In my case, I spent over a decade working as a freelance photojournalist in Washington, DC. I’ve chased breaking news, documented protests, city council hearings, quiet moments, and chaos. I’ve crossed paths with senators, activists, organizers, baristas, and everyday people whose stories deserved to be seen.

I’ve walked the streets of every quadrant, from Anacostia to Georgetown, camera in hand — and chances are, if you lived or worked in DC during those years, we might already be one or two degrees apart.

How to Play

Start by asking yourself:

How many steps would it take for someone to reach me (Beth Of The Beltway)?

1st Degree: You know me personally.

2nd Degree: You know someone who knows me.

3rd Degree: You know someone who knows someone who knows me.

And so on… You can get creative with it too:

“My friend was in a photo you shot during the Women’s March.”

“My coworker used to run comms for a nonprofit you covered.”

“You once liked my Instagram post about go-go music at Howard Theatre.”

Whether it’s fact, fiction, or somewhere in between, it’s all about tracing the lines and marveling at the connections.

Why This Matters

In a city like DC — where power and protest live side by side — it’s easy to think of people as passing shadows in the crowd. But the truth is, we’re all part of something more intricately woven. You never know who might be connected to whom… or how.

It’s a reminder that community isn’t always obvious. Sometimes, it’s just a chain of small, human moments that bind us tighter than we realize.

So tell me:

How many degrees are you from Beth Of The Beltway?

September 17th, 1862: The Battle of Antietam

Beth Of The Beltway’s
Song Recommendation For The People:
Ashokan Farwell
Artists: Jay Ungar & Molly Mason Family Band
Ashokan Farwell (Wikipedia)

The American Civil War (1861-1865) The Battle of Antietam, Sharpsburg, Maryland, September 17th, 1862.

This September 17th, 2024, marks the 162nd Anniversary of the single bloodiest day in all of American history.

The Union Army technically won the day, but a slow as molasses retreat was callously and foolishly allowed by Union General George B. McClellan. McClellan’s inability to seize the day and crush the Confederate Army at The Battle of Antietam ultimately caused three more years of horrendous war that tore apart our nation.

Our “perfect” Union.

In a twist of fate, and McClellan’s damned foolishness, instead of defeat and utter annihilation on September 17th or 18th, 1862, General Robert E. Lee and the rest of the Confederate Army were allowed to slip away, snaking down the Potomac River, slithering back to the safety of Virginia’s Shenandoah Valley to fight another day. Many, many more days. So much death. Destruction. Devastation.

Too much.

Lee and the Confederate Army limped, half-shoeless and shirtless along to Gettysburg, Pennsylvania in July 1863, The High Water Mark Of The American Civil War, and finally onto defeat and surrender in April 1865.

Union General Ulysses S. Grant accepted Confederate General Robert E. Lee and the Confederate Army’s total surrender and causeless concession of defeat on April 9th, 1865, at Appomattox Courthouse. The war did not “officially” end until May 26th, 1865.



In another strange twist of fate, three years later on September 17th, 1865, President Abraham Lincoln was already dead. He did not live long enough to see the end of the war or to make solemn remarks on the anniversary of the bloody savagery that occurred at The Battle of Antietam.

On both sides.

Remember, President Abraham Lincoln was not always a “progressive” politician. His debates with Stephen Douglass and his long meetings and conversations with Frederick Douglass later in life make him a more than fascinating figure. However, not in the founding of a nation, but in the unfathomable task of understanding and connecting The People.

I am certain it would have been an amazing speech, but we will never hear it. Perhaps, years from now, some young person will find disparate notes scribbled on a scrap of paper from The War Department, or in the dustjacket of a well-worn personal book, or…

Perhaps, President Lincoln was focused on the “here and now” and only wanted to go to the theatre that night to forget about war. Lose himself in a story. Laugh at the jokes. Marvel at the performances. He wanted to see characters, not be one.

Remember, President Lincoln drew from William Shakespeare’s many works.

Perhaps, he thought that evening, ”All the world's a stage, and all the men and women merely players.”

Perhaps, The President only wanted to experience a night out on the town. Normalcy. Calm. Feel the fun and frivolity of what life could be after all of the crushing chaos, the wanton war, and the seemingly never-ending nightmares of battlefield deaths. Let alone that slavery debacle and the Emancipation Proclamation and the still debatable, unstable idea that all men (HUMANS) are created equal and that ALL are Free in the United States Of America…


Remember, Dear Reader: A President is only a citizen voted to higher office by THE PEOPLE.

Long before he was a President of the United States, Abraham Lincoln was:

A man. A person. A human being.

Someone like you and me, Dear Reader.


Tragically, President Abraham Lincoln was assassinated by the coward and traitor, John Wilkes Booth, on April 14th, 1865, during a play called, Our American Cousin.

The President was assassinated as he sat enjoying that play, with his wife and friends, at Ford’s Theater in Washington, D.C.

The nation, still torn asunder, was further plunged into grief and sorrow for the grave loss of “Our American President” and for the gnawing, spiraling uncertainty and anxiety of the still unknown and ultimate fate of Our “more perfect Union…”

”And that government of The People, by The People, for The People, shall not perish from the earth.”

President Lincoln was fatally shot on April 14th, 1865, but he did not die that evening or night. Instead, he stubbornly, but bravely lingered on into the early morning hours of April 15th, 1865. President Abraham Lincoln went to his final rest in The Petersen House, across the street from Ford’s Theatre, at 7:22AM, April 15th, 1865.

I like to remember, on hard days, that the sun did not set on President Abraham Lincoln. President Lincoln did not die in darkness. He died with his Presidential Cabinet. Surrounded by his friends. His Team Of Rivals.

In the moments after he took his last breath, his friend, and the country’s Secretary of War, Edwin Stanton said:

“Now he belongs to the ages.”

President Lincoln, before he was POTUS, was a son, a father, a soldier, a lawyer, a statesman, and so much more; but, at one time, he was just Abraham Lincoln. As plain and simple and, hopefully, sensible as you, Dear Reader, or me.

I like to remember, on hard days, that the sun did not set on Mr. Lincoln. The sunrise on April 15th, 1865 was recorded at 5:30AM. President Abraham Lincoln passed on to another realm of consciousness, commending his soul to eternity at 7:22AM, April 15th, 1865.

April 15th.

What
We The People
Now know as:
“Tax Day.”


What’s that idiom about “death” and “taxes," Benjamin Franklin?


Dear Reader:
The moral of today’s blog post:

ALWAYS
CARPE DIEM!
Seize the day!
ALWAYS
ALWAYS


BE BRAVE!
Go to the theatre!
Walk outside!
Open your eyes and see the magic in people and the world around you!


We must all try to:
SEIZE THE DAY!
Carpe diem!


The sun rises on September 18th, 2024 at 6:53AM.


Are you ready for another dawn?
Another day?
One Day More?


Remember, Dear Reader:
BE BRAVE!


The sun rises and sets every day, without fail.
The dawn of a new day will
ALWAYS break Itself.

ALWAYS
Try to do your best
AND NEVER
Allow the day to
BREAK YOU.

SEIZE THE DAY!
BE BRAVE!
BE YOU!

Beth’s Rule #1: CITE YOUR SOURCES.