A name to keep in mind

Certainly while I was working on the Viking exhibition at the Smithsonian, I had the opportunity to meet a number of official dignitaries, from Hillary Clinton to the First Lady of Croatia. Here in Iceland, this sort of thing is more common, since the ratio of government to "people" is much higher than in the United States. Still, yesterday when I met the Alþingismaður for this area, a native Keflavíking, I felt a bit uncivilized. I could not tell her any details of either my mother or my family history that would help her clue into who I "am", which meant I failed at the Icelandic game of 6, or 3, degrees of separation which ritually begins most conversations.  Of course, it was never necessary in the United States to try to figure out how an elected official would know my mother.

But it turns out there was a very easy way to do this. My grandmother's brother was Sverrir Júlíusson, an Alþingismaður himself. I'm going to have to remember that for next time. 

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