someone once asked me...

Do you know everyone?

Probably because I have a habit of connecting two people who need similar things (in this instance, I think it was a friend who needed somewhere to stay and another friend who needed someone to rent)--and I do know quite a few people--one of the results of having moved a lot--jobs, houses, countries--you end up with a number of acquaintances.
I am however several orders of magnitude away from Katharine Graham in the "do you know everyone" question.

I picked up her autobiography on a whim--more because "All the President's Men" is one of my favorite books than because I felt any sort of driving need to learn her life story. Her life story (so far, I am only up to when she and her husband have just taken over the Washington Post) is turning into a fascinating read though.
So far, she has met Einstein (rowing a boat), several presidents (Roosevelt, Wilson), a scattering of important artists (Rodin, Brancusi), and a number of names I had to write down to look up later. She has done all of this while being increasingly charming--for all of her privileged upbringing, she portrays herself as someone who was both ignorant of the extent of her privilege and uncomfortable with what she did realize she had. That, coupled with the upbringing that insisted that all of her family make active contributions to the public good, make this book a fantastic read so far. It's a fascinating way to watch history unfold--I can't wait to get to Watergate.