Page created 17 Sep 2003 by pedro
URL: http://www.disinfo.com/archive/pages/dossier/id42/pg1/
Strange coincidences.
From Orlando Sentinel Quest for cookie jar leads to long-lost brotherSweet surprise. (HILDA M. PEREZ/ORLANDO SENTINEL) September 16, 2003
By Pamela J. Johnson Sentinel Staff Writer Published September 17, 2003
Bob Kunath recognized something in the way the pixie face of the vintage cookie jar winked at him. It was like it had a secret.
What he didn't know was that he had come upon a secret that would change his life.
Kunath rarely drives the 47 miles from Orlando to Webster to shop, but on this day, he had risen before dawn to be at the flea market when it opened at 5 a.m.
And though he rarely makes cookies, the ceramic cookie jar with the fairy face and sly expression caught his eye.
But the $150 price tag was too steep, and the vendor wouldn't budge. Days later, Kunath still couldn't get the cookie jar out of his mind.
So he did something else he rarely does: He searched on eBay and found one exactly like it. For only $35, he snapped it up.
It wasn't until the package arrived last week that the secret was revealed. The man who sold Kunath the cookie jar was a brother he has never met.
Kunath, adopted when he was an infant, has often wondered about his biological parents.
He knew from his adoption papers that his mother's name is June Shaw and his father's name is Harry Saylor. His adoptive parents told him that he had two siblings, a sister and brother. But he never attempted to contact them.
"I've never had a burning desire to meet these people," Kunath said. "I had really great parents. I'm who I am today because of them."
But looking at the receipt that accompanied the cookie jar, he found something curious. The eBay seller's name was Harry Saylor.
"How freakish," thought Kunath, a 48-year-old hair-salon owner. "What a very strange coincidence."
'This was just too weird'
The name Harry Saylor goaded him. A day later, he e-mailed Saylor, asking where he lived. Saylor said he was from northern New Jersey. So was Kunath's biological father.
"I've never believed much in God or fate," Kunath said at his Orlando home this week. "But this was just too weird."
He had a strong inkling that he had not found his father because the items Saylor was selling on eBay were geared for the young and hip.
Kunath shot Saylor another e-mail: "I think we know some of the same people. I have an odd story to tell you. P.S. This could be Oprah material. Or eBay history for sure." His brother e-mailed back: "This sounds like it could be super strange. You can call me . . ."
Before calling Saylor, Kunath talked with his parents, who at first tried to persuade him to let things be.
"I told them I had to," Kunath said. "I wasn't looking. This fell into my lap. It just happened. It's meant to be."
Lifelong secret revealed
When the two connected by phone, Kunath asked Saylor whether his mother's name was June Shaw. When he answered yes, Kunath knew.
"I'm your full-blooded biological brother," he blurted to a stunned Saylor, who was unaware he had a brother.
Kunath's young, unmarried parents had put him up for adoption when he was born in 1954. Within two years of his birth, his biological parents wed, settled in New Jersey and eventually had two more children, a girl and a boy.
In the same state, about a dozen miles away, Kunath was living with his adoptive parents, Red and Renee Kunath. An only child, he was still a baby when his adoptive parents divorced. His mother remarried when he was 3. His adoptive father died of a stroke on Kunath's 16th birthday.
In 1971, Kunath, his mother and stepfather, George Caloz, moved to Florida, where the family owned a hotel in Leesburg. Kunath moved to Orlando in 1980 and opened Wave Hair Design on East Colonial Drive 16 years ago.
In his conversation with Saylor, Kunath learned that his sister died in 1991. He learned that Saylor, four years his junior, owns an art gallery in New Jersey. Kunath and his brother share a penchant for some of the same obscure, retro artists such as Shag and Holt-Howard, who inspired the cookie jar that brought them together.
Not seeking parents
Since speaking last week, the two have e-mailed each other several times. Kunath wants to give his brother time to get over the shock of having family he knew nothing about, but eventually he would like to meet him. He has no immediate plans to try to contact his biological parents.
"They got rid of me," he said, crossing his arms. "Not that I'm feeling resentment, but I just don't feel the need."
He doesn't fool himself into thinking that connecting with his brother means the two will become instant friends. He just wants to get to know him better and see whether the two have the same hazel eyes, generous smile and thick, dark hair.
In their last e-mail exchange, his brother told him he would call Monday night. But Saylor didn't call. When Kunath called him, he wasn't home. For now, Kunath hopes his phone will ring and it will be his brother. But if it doesn't, he still has no regrets.
"Right now it's an open road," Kunath said. "If this whole thing has taught me anything, it's that you never know where the road will take you."
Pamela J. Johnson can be reached at pjohnson@orlandosentinel.com or 407-420-5171.
Copyright © 2003, Orlando Sentinel
What a coincidence
<proj>Coincidental cappuchino with cinnamon</proj>
I'm really on a roll today.