Sunday, August 19, 2007

Sometimes You Just Stay Friends



Many people I've met via the internet have come and gone in my life. I think it's the nature of the beast. The connection is somewhat tenuous anyway, and then since you don't always live nearby, you aren't able to spend time together and make your friendships work.

However, when it works, it works. And I've always found it so funny the people who stick close through the years, how we've managed to make it work. Particularly since I am often better "on paper" than in real life.

One such person is Jer, pictured above with the General and me. We first met in person exactly 10 years ago this month in his hometown of Marion, OH. He and my mom had been chatting on line and when I made the ill-fated move to Utah, we stopped on our way to meet him and his mom. When Mom, Judy, and I traveled to Indiana for her birthday, we stopped on our way home to see him, and the last time we've seen each other was when I moved to Arkansas in 1999. Now, you must understand, we are still friends mainly due to his tenacity in keeping in touch with me. He somehow finds my phone numbers, maintains my email addresses, and has kept me on his Yahoo Messenger despite the fact I only log onto Messenger about once every 3 months any more. We always have real pleasant chats, and then swap emails for a couple weeks, and then he contacts me six months later and I hear, "What's up, crackhead?" on the phone and know it can only be one person, and we're off and running again.

So, here we are, 2007, and Jer got married. And he and his wife were coming to DC and wanted to see if we could all meet up. The timing was perfect, and so yesterday, he and Mike finally met, and I got to meet his wife, Kathy.

We wound up spending yesterday together on the National Mall. We ate lunch at the Pavilion Cafe in the sculpture garden, and then decided to do all the monuments since there wasn't time to do the Smithsonian. It was a beautiful day on the Mall-no humidity, low 80's, so we parked at the WWII memorial, and walked from there to the Lincoln Memorial and back again. Kathy, a Candian emigree, declared everything "awesome". :-) She and I are very similar and I think Jer and Mike have some similarities, so it was a very entertaining day together.

After the Mall, we dined at Union Station, where we went through sodas and lemonades as fast as the waitress could bring them (unfortunately she was quite slow). Then Kathy and I made a beeline for Godiva Chocolates and then I took them to the FDR Memorial for an evening tour.

It was fun to be on the Mall, great to see Jer, great to meet his wife, and nice to spend time with my husband out of the house. Thanks, Jer, for a great 10 years! Let's do it again sometime, and not take so long :-)

7 pearl(s) of wisdom:

Cindy said...

I used to do telnet many many years ago, and met several people off of there. Some good - some not so good. Haha. I still chat with my "Auntie Robin" who felt like she needed to take me under her wing. She was in her 30s when I was chatting when I was 19. A good friend of mine kept more in touch with her than I did and she actually came to my friend's wedding. It was pretty cool to be in the same room with her.

It's cool to keep friendships - no matter how they started- for a long time. I catch up with my first real friend that I met when I was 2 or 3 every once in a while. We only live 2 hours apart, but only see each other every few years.

Talmadge said...

I've met some interesting characters online. Nine years ago, I met several really crazy individuals ... if memory serves, I think one was named Nettiemac and the other is, ummm, errrr, Sara Pam - no, that's not it. Surry Jam? Sani Flush? Or maybe Seraphim. FOr some reason that name resonates.

I wonder what those two are up to nowadays. It's too bad those internet friendships didn't develop into anything.

--Talmadge "Swollen cheek" Gleck

Talmadge said...

And who are YOU? ;-)

Seraphim9 said...

I met my very best friend on line several years ago. He so dazzled me with his charm that I just had to up and marry him.

Then he goes and calls me Sani-Flush. Hmph.

I guess it's a good thing I love him so much...... :)

I look forward to meeting some of my newer internet friends in person one day. Perhaps Nettiemac, Talmadge, and I could teach them the finer points of hunting down that elusive "damn ice machine".

Talmadge said...

Sani-Flush (n.), longtime affectionate nickname of a old dairy stand in Auburn, Ala. called Sani-Freeze.

(good save, eh?)

Kate/Susan said...

You two are crazy. :-)

Seraphim9 said...

Yeah.....but we're only a danger to ourselves. :-)