Like many bloggers, I have developed friendships around the world, “meeting” folks who want to grow their audience and publish interesting stories. Most of the time, these friendships are totally virtual. (For example, I don’t travel to Australia that often- so meeting Jeanine in person is not in the offing.)
But, some of these folks live (or used to) nearby. And, we’d elect to meet. Oftentimes with our whole families. Others live across the country- and until the pandemic, I would routinely find myself in Long Beach, Los Angeles, Portland, and/or Seattle. And, I would arrange to meet these bloggers- to convert the virtual to the real.
Well, on the last weekend of Summer, Bonnie Manning Anderson (who was accompanying her great husband, Bob) was posting pictures of her current trip. It was clear to me that she was in Alexandria; their home is in Orlando, Florida. (Yes, Bonnie even posted a picture of one of our old offices! How could I miss that reference?) So, we arranged to meet at what used to be my local hangout. (How much of a hangout? I spent between 6 and 12 hours a week at this place.)
The problem now, of course, is that I am not truly ambulatory. But, I am ambitious. (OK- most of my friends—and my kids- would replace that adjective with stubborn.) So, I took my “kneelie” on a little trip. About 0.6 miles over bumpy roads to St. Elmo’s. (I admit to have “found” a severe crack in the route about 200 feet from the destination [at Gayle Reuter’s house [more on that later], which caused my kneelie to send me on a flying adventure. [I managed to stay upright- landing on a knee and clutching the truckbed of a parked vehicle].)
Thankfully, the sun was shining, the humidity was somewhat low, and the temperatures were bearable.
But, it was delightful to meet Bonnie and Bob in person. I first encountered Bonnie when she started her blog- A ship bound for Tarshish- back in early 2011. (Her current blog is LifeontheLighterSide.com .) And, we’ve communicated via Facebook (and blog comments) ever since.
And, Bonnie’s life-long friend is Gayle Reuter, who lives “next door” to St. Elmo’s. (It would be more correct to say she lives next door to the St. Elmo’s parking lot.) I’ve know Gayle because we were both active in Del Ray (a community within Alexandria) business circles. (She still is; I’m not.)
Gayle approached our liaison masked- since she had just been exposed to that vile bugaboo- SARS-CoV-2. And, she also kept her distance. But, for Bob, Bonnie, and me, it was great to have a short conversation with her.
And, then, Bonnie, Bob, and I just laughed a lot, while enjoying a light brunch. After which I made my trek back home.
My question for you… How many of you have made it a practice to meet some (more?) of your virtual friends? I suggest you do.
It is definitely wonderful if we can meet up with our virtual friends and I still recall that zoom session we had (you hosted) a few months ago..
Your post inspires me to look up my own group of virtual friends to see which of them live within that driving distance so we can meet in-person….
vidya recently posted..Sunday Scribblings #79: The Wonderful Navratri Golu and a Doha For It
It’s great to meet those folks you only speak to in virtual situations, Vidya. Go for it.
Meeting you was certainly a highlight of our trip. I’ve often shared your posts with Bob, so he was also delighted to meet you. Thank you, again, for reaching out when you noticed I was stalking your old office. Glad you didn’t injure yourself any further during the .6 mile trek!
Bonnie Anderson recently posted..My Life on the Rocks
I had a great time meeting you both- which wouldn’t have happened if we still didn’t visit with one another virtually. Give my best to Bob- and thanks for sharing Sunday morning with me.
I’ve met the grand total of one of my blogging friends. I met up with her when we traveled near where she lives and spent some of an afternoon at a Civil War reenactment. But the friendship never kindled. We are still Facebook friends but she rarely shows up in my feed. Another blogger actually reached out to me (we both live in New York State) but that didn’t happen. I’m very shy in person and it would take a lot of effort (and overcoming stress) for me to connect with someone in that way. That’s not an excuse, I know. I’m sure I miss out on a lot. Perhaps I should blog about it.
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Sorry your experience has not matched mine. I truly loved meeting these folks, and hope we can maintain both virtual and real friendships for the long term. Even with the one blogger I met who lived locally at the time, but is now long distance.