Near where Christine Purpura was killed

I found myself in a totally new situation this morning, one that could have been set up only by the Internet.

As a savvy social web user, I set up Google Alerts on all the versions of my name and my husband and childrens’ names. A free service that is easy to use, Google alerts will send an email with a link to any internet text that contains the phrase you are watching (in this case, our names).

I’ve been doing this for years. It’s how I discovered another Christine Cavalier who works in the tech department at Tufts (it was confusing for all my Twitter people when she was going to attend the Boston podcamp, that’s for sure!), and yet another woman who used “Christine Cavalier” as a stage name for her work in screamer/horror flicks in the 1980′s.

Christine Cavalier is my maiden name. It’s my pen and professional name. But my married name is actually Christine Cavalier-Purpura. So, naturally, I set up a Google Alert for that name and its variant, Christine Purpura.

About 6 or 7 years ago, I was alerted to Christine Purpura’s activities by a co-worker. Her name had come up in his internet travels. He asked me if I was a long distance runner, if I was fundraising for a national research cause, and if I had another home in New England. No, no and no. It was my doppleganger, 4 years younger than me, with the name Christine Purpura. It wasn’t long after this incident that I set up the Google Alerts.

I didn’t think anything about getting alerts about Christine Purpura. They’d come up now and then. I can’t remember now what milestones I missed, but I can remember thinking, “Oh, there she is… is she still running?” In fact, I remembered to register for any 5K runs that I did as Christine Cavalier, noting in my head that our times would get confused on national race lists if I used “Christine Purpura.” A small connection, I know. But I kind of always expect her to be there, in New England, running around doing things that show up in my alerts. Imagine my shock when I saw this come up in the Google Alert this morning:

http://www.myrecordjournal.com/latestnews/article_70cad2a2-a7ee-11df-890b-001cc4c03286.html

Southington woman killed in I-84 accident

By: | Posted: Saturday, August 14, 2010 5:51 pm

SOUTHINGTON – A 36-year-old Southington woman has died after being hit by a box truck in an eastbound lane of Interstate 84 near exit 31 Saturday morning as she was walking, said state police of Troop H in Hartford.

Christine Purpura, of 129 Walkley Drive, was declared dead at St. Mary’s Hospital, in Waterbury, where she’d been taken by ambulance with head injuries following the accident, which took place at 9:44 a.m., police said.

Police said there were no injuries to the driver of the Penske Truck Leasing truck, 60-year-old James Cunningham, of Lagrangeville, N.Y., or to passenger Suzanne Cunningham, 59. Police said the truck was in the right-hand eastbound lane when it struck Purpura.

No charges have been filed. State police are continuing the investigation, and are asking anyone with information to contact Trooper William Bevans, at (860) 534-1000, ext. 6136.

I don’t know what to do about this. I’m more bummed about it than I expected, actually. I just assumed I’d always be getting her alerts, quietly watching from afar when she hit major milestones, or got a new job, or bought a new house. Maybe she was seeing my alerts, too, if my name ever matched hers in any documents, which it does often. Did she know I existed like I knew she did? I’m sad I won’t be able to “see” her anymore.

I was mad that this article didn’t say more about her. She was probably running along I-84. I looked at the whole strip on Google Street View. The wide shoulder on the right of I-84 between exits 31 and 32 is fine for running. An interstate isn’t ideal, but it has a really wide shoulder. And the accident occurred at prime weekend running time, before 10 a.m. on a Saturday. What happened? Am I ever going to find out?

On top of these questions, I feel weird that I even want to know. I have no claim to this woman’s life. I am not her friend. We are strangers. I am a person that sometimes shares her same name, and I’ve been hearing about her for years on a regular basis. But I never reached out to her (like I did Christine Cavalier at Tufts), I never disturbed her privacy. Nevertheless, I’m bummed I won’t be seeing her updates anymore. She seemed so active and full of life, according to the updates. I sit here confused about connections and what this all means.

Anyway, I hope Christine Purpura’s family finds some way to cope, and I hope they see this post, to know that even strangers knew she existed, and I hope that is some sort of small comfort. Lives aren’t led in tiny mysterious bubbles anymore. Lives are written, documented on-line, for readers to connect with, aside from social ties or celebrity. My heart goes out to that other Purpura family (one that is, most probably, related to my in-laws in some way), and to everyone who has lost a loved one before their time, or before life even begins, like my real-life friend Amanda’s little baby Eliana, who died as soon as she came out of the womb last month, or my brother’s best school mate (he was like a brother to me) who died on the Lockerbie flight. I remember. I know they were here. That’s all I have to give, but I give it with all my heart.

More posts like this one:

• 9 August 2011 -- Keeping Secrets in the Age of the Internet (2)
• 13 June 2011 -- Beyond Eye Bleach: Learning the Lessons of New Media Consumption (2)
• 8 May 2011 -- Displays of Wealth: The Trouble with Online Profiles (14)

Tagged as: Christine Purpura, connections, death, internet, running