It ain't me, babe... it ain't me you're looking for, babe...

While I am apparently the only Barry Campbell with a listed number in the New York City phone directory, I have known for some time that I'm not the only one in town.

For several years now, I have been getting occasional phone calls intended for a Barry Campbell who was apparently involved with Veterans Affairs in some way. These callers were generally seeking help resolving benefits issues, and I just told them, when I answered the phone, that they had the wrong guy.

About a month ago, however, I got an actual letter from a veteran in trouble. He had tracked down my mailing address from an online directory, was writing me from a VA hospital, was having a terrible time with his benefits, and had heard through the grapevine that "I" could help him.

The letter, without going into details, was absolutely heartbreaking.

This finally got me off the dime... I made a pot of strong coffee and sat down to do some serious Googling.

Before long, I found who I was looking for: Barry G. Campbell, the founder and CEO of the Veterans' Quality of Life Access Network. I made a few phone calls, talked to one of his associates, eventually got Mr. Campbell (very nice guy) on the horn, and passed along the relevant information on the troubled vet's behalf.

From now on, when somebody calls looking for Barry G. (I'm Barry T.), I can point him in the right direction.

In the process of hunting down Barry G. Campbell, however, I ran into a number of other Barry Campbells who, um, I am also not. They are a fascinating bunch:

• Barry Campbell, the Scottish motorcycle racer
• Barry Campbell, the former Liberal Member of Canadian Parliament, now a senior strategist at a prestigious consulting firm (hey, looks like he's got his own company as well)
  
• Barry Campbell, the computer programmer who also participates in submarine expeditions under the Arctic ice cap (by the way, how cool is that?)
• Barry Campbell, the Libertarian candidate for Congress from Indiana (what are the odds of there being multiple libertarian Barry Campbells in the world?)
• Barry Campbell, the English union organizer
• Barry Campbell, M.D., a radiologist living in California
• Barry Campbell, the pastor of Glencoe Baptist Church in Florida
• Dr. Barry Campbell, the Liverpool University research scientist and medical school instructor on gastroenterology.