Sometimes, this six degrees of separation stuff can get very Twilight Zone-ish. Wamre, as noted, has a professional, how are you doing relationship with former mayor Ron Kirk. President-elect Barack Obama will name Kirk his U.S. trade representative today. Meanwhile, my brother (the successful one in the family) is friends with Valerie Jarrett, a long-time Obama confidante who will be a key White House aide. She and my brother served together on the Chicago Stock Exchange board.

Which raises this very surreal question: Is it possible, during whatever small talk cabinet types make before the meeting starts, that the subject of the Advocate could come up?

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Kirk: Yeah, they seem to like what I’m doing back in Dallas. Even the publisher of the neighborhood magazine wrote something nice.

Jarrett: Dallas neighborhood magazine? That’s funny. I have a friend whose brother does something for a Dallas neighborhood magazine.

And then Rod Serling steps out from behind a door.