A Coincidence Concerning Poem Six and Sister Thomasina

If you slog through this blog you'll see that poem six contains a line that is handwritten by Sister Thomasina, age 92, who lives here in Carrick-on-Shannon. She is a very energetic, retired National School teacher who writes poems as well. The coincidence I mention is this: when I was at Silverstone in Dublin a few weeks ago doing the vinyl end of the lettering that goes on the staircase, I happened to get to talking to David, from Crumlin in Dublin who was in the sign shop getting graphics put on his van. Dave was asking me a bit about the project, and I told him about Sister Thomasina and that I was hoping her handwriting would translate into vinyl and be readable as a sign. Dave perked up at the mention of the nun and said, "You know it's gas, but the other day I was just talking about a teacher I had in baby infants in Crumlin. Her name was Sister Thomasina as well, and I remember her because she was so nice to us. When we did well in our handwriting lessons, she'd hand out pilots' badges with wings on them to the boys." And he went on to say that what was remarkable to him was that he talked about her and remembered her because she had been kind and encouraging. So of course, we both wondered if "his" Sister Thomasina and "my" Sister Thomasina were one in the same. I wrote to her when I got home, and yes, she was teaching in Crumlin in the late sixties, which is when Dave would have been in her classes. I gave her his name, and I think they'll be in touch with each other.