Published April 27, 2011

Lots of beach-goers this summer will scour the sand for pretty shells, sand dollars, loose change. Few, you’d think, would ever find their own brother.

But that’s what happened to two Massachusetts brothers on a Waikiki, Hawaii, beach earlier this month, according to the AP.

A hotel employee, Joe Parker, offered to snap a picture of Rick Hill’s family. They got to talking about their shared Boston accent and played the Name Game to see if they knew similar people. Turns out, they both knew Dickie Halligan because Halligan was both of their fathers. The AP writes:

Hill says he felt chills. Halligan was his father. Parker said Halligan was his father too. The men were half-brothers.

Parker called the encounter “mind blowing.”

Both men knew they had a brother, but never expected to meet.

Last time I went to the beach all I came back with was a sunburn.