Note: If you have not read Part 1, you can do so at http://blog.rallcapital.com/2010/01/20/bob-rall-meet-bob-rall.aspx 

So, the great coincidence continued.  Or is it coincidence?  I've found someone who shares my name.  That's kind of interesting, but probably not all that unusual.   What about the fact that he lives in the city where, before we connected, I had just made plans to run my next marathon?  That made the coincidence even more interesting.  But when I learned his parents shared the same name as my parents, and that they were all originally from the Pittsburgh area, the story went beyond interesting.  Now it was getting bizarre.

The New Year's weekend came and went.  Gina and I started to prepare for our trip to Jackson.  I had been keeping my friends and family up to speed on the story and many of them seemed almost as anxious for Bob and me to meet as I was.  Several of them made Gina and I promise to call right after we got together with Bob and his wife, Elizabeth.

Gina and I were running the Mississippi Blues Marathon on Saturday morning, January 9th.  Our plans were to fly in on Friday, check in at our hotel, and then go to the race expo.  We thought we would try to meet up with Bob and Elizabeth for our pre-race carb-loading dinner on Friday evening.  The plan gave us a built-in excuse for cutting the evening short if it didn't go well.  We needed our rest before the race.  After all, even though I shared a name with Bob, we didn't know him. 

On Monday evening, January 4^th, I got a message from Bob.  He gave me his cell phone number and told me to call when Gina and I got into town.  The plan was for him and Elizabeth to pick us up at our hotel on Friday and take us to his favorite Italian restaurant for dinner.  We were just 4 days from "Bob Rall, meet Bob Rall."

Tuesday morning, January 5^th was another typical morning for me.  I was up early.  I had my coffee and was at my computer checking email and Facebook and getting ready for my workday.  Just before I started to get ready for my morning run, I received a message that rocked me.  The story had taken yet another incredible turn.

The message was from Carlann, Bob's sister.  It said simply, "This is Bob's sister.  I just got a call from Bob's son.  He died in his sleep last night.  I don't know what else to say." 

I was stunned.  I slumped back in my chair and shouted, "Oh my God!"   Gina was getting ready to leave for work.  She came into the office to see what was wrong.  I shared the sad news with her.

It didn't seem real.  I was surprised by my emotions.  I felt like I had lost a close friend.  After all of the buildup and the strange coincidences of the last few weeks, I was not going to get to meet the other Bob Rall.

Carlann had given me her phone number, so I called to express our condolences.  She told me that she was flying to Jackson the next day to prepare for the funeral.  She also said that she would like to meet Gina and me when we came into town.  Bob's son, Rob also contacted me about getting together.  I told them that we would like that very much.  We had to close the loop on this story. 

Bob was quite the celebrity in Jackson.  He was known as "Chopper" Bob for the traffic reports he broadcast for one of the local television stations and several of the radio stations.  I learned from the online obituary that he was part of the first ever radio talk show in Jackson.  The television station did several on-air memorial messages that we were able to view online. 

These memorials gave me a chance to actually see Bob.  Through them, I found another twist to the story.  Bob and I shared some physical characteristics.  As we say in my family, "he has the Rall nose!"  After seeing his pictures, several of my friends and family members commented on the resemblance.  So, are we related? 

Bob's funeral was Friday morning.  Gina and I landed in Jackson about the same time the service was ending.  After getting to the hotel, we contacted Rob and Carlann.  We told them that we would certainly understand if they decided they would rather not go out on such a sad day for them.  But they insisted on meeting.  Apparently they wanted to close the loop too.

Rob and his wife, Crystal picked us up at our hotel.  They took us to "Bravo!", Bob's favorite Italian restaurant.  The rest of the family had also decided to join us.  We met Bob's other son, Mike, who was in from Austin, TX.  Carlann and her husband Dave were there from North Carolina.  And Carlann's daughter, Satasha was there from Virginia.  Even Bob's wife, Elizabeth came to join us. 

The connection between Gina and I and Bob's family was immediate and strong.  The evening turned into a celebration of his life.  They shared some of their favorite stories about Bob.  There were several of his friends at the restaurant as well.  They stopped by to pay their condolences to the family and to meet the "other" Bob Rall.  Carlann shared some pictures of their parents and I shared some of mine.  There is definitely a connection somewhere in our family.

Gina and I ran the marathon the next morning, despite the 17 degree temperatures.  We each wore a picture of Bob with a message that said we were running in his honor.  Although it was extremely cold, and those hills that Bob described to me as "moderate" were a lot more than that for us Floridians, it was a great event.  WLBT, the television station Bob worked for, came out and interviewed me on the course.  They had been following the story about Bob Rall meeting Bob Rall and wanted to share it with their viewers and Bob's fans.  The report ran that night and the next morning on their news shows.  (It will be posted on my website)

Carlann, Dave and Satasha picked us up after the race to take us for our traditional celebratory burger and beer.  That evening, we went over to Rob and Crystal's home and spent some more time with our new "family."  We had homemade chili, fresh goose sausage, good wine and a lot of fun.  We truly enjoyed meeting Bob's family and have started making plans for future visits.  Rob and Crystal are coming to visit us soon to watch one of the last space shuttle launches.

So, is it coincidence that Bob and I met online, but didn't get a chance to meet?  Or, was it something else?  Something bigger that brought us together?  Maybe something bringing together two distant branches on a family tree?  I'm still trying to answer that question myself.  I'd love to hear your opinion.