Found out this morning that my very first Internet friend passed away last month. I'd been worrying, but because he was in and out of the hospital a lot over the last few years and often vanished from social media, then reappeared after a few weeks, it took a while for me to find out.
We met via a game site, It's Your Turn, and had played games like Battleship and variations of Scrabble since December of 2000, although failing vision on his part had slowed this down a lot. When Facebook came along it was even more fun to communicate. And there were better games for our friendly competition as well....
We lived in different worlds, big city vs country, farm vs urban, and a lot of other cultural differences that could have influenced our friendship but didn't. I will never forget how he once got in an argument with someone at the grocery store over how farmers treat their livestock and how dairy and beef products are produced....and about how much farmers are paid for their products. He knew better than most you see.....
He loved dogs and hated beets and once sent my best-ever Border Collie, Mike, a stuffed hedgehog that became the most fought over toy in the house. We exchanged cards on holidays and even talked on the phone once. The kids and the boss got to know him too.....he felt like family.
We will miss him a lot....RIP Mike B
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5 comments:
At least you know, I have internet buddies who just disappear.
I'm so sorry about your friend.
I, too, have been touched by Internet friendship, feeling a warm attachment to people like you, Marianne, just by virtue of how we share our everyday lives with each other through our blogs. I believe I would love you because I know what you love. I am thinking today especially of one of my original blog readers, starting in 2009 when we started following and commenting on each other's blogs. He hasn't blogged for several years, but I'm thinking of him now because he lived in Paradise, California, in a house he and his wife built out of straw bales. I imagine his house and everything else he owned was burned in this terrible fire. Because he no longer keeps up his blog, I have no way of knowing how he and his family are faring. But I am thinking of him, as you are thinking of your internet friend. We are all connected.
I am so sorry. Over the years I've lost friends never knowing what happened to them. Now you know...your tribute is wonderful
Jan, thank you, at least I found out about Mike, although there are still so many questions that will never be answered. Isn't it funny how we all become connected by this medium? It astonishes me that you and I met via that old blog exchange back in the day. I can't even remember its name, but our connection has endured so many years since then. Have a wonderful holiday!
Jacqueline, as a fairly shy introvert, the net has been a godsend for me. I can be alone without being lonely. lol. And I feel so fortunate to have found such a wonderful circle of delightful and fascinating people to enjoy, yourself among them. I cannot tell you how many times I have looked at a plant and wished I could ask you about it. Birds are relatively easy, tons of field guides, lots of ID groups on line....but the differences among plants are so much more subtle and there are so many more of them. I have to content myself with knowing a few and wondering about the rest. Have a wonderful holiday season and thanks for being one of my favorite internet friends!
Linda, you are so right. I think back over folks I talked to every day who simply disappeared one day never to return. If you don't know their last name you can rarely ever find them. Thanks for being such a great friend!
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