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11/26/2008

Wordy Wednesday - Last Friday

Last Friday, Annie and I met and had lunch with Linda, her husband Paul, and Paul's Mom, Barbara, who was in town from Florida. I had been suggesting, gently, for a little while, that coffee was in order, but Barbara, in planning to visit her sons (one lives in the same town I do) told her daughter-in-law she would like to meet me. Suddenly, it was on.

I was nervous as hell. Annie was nervous. I'm sure Linda and Paul and Barbara were all nervous as well. The nerves all melted away as they walked through the door of the restaurant and everybody could see the smiles on everybody else's face. It was truly a lovely time. We all ate and drank and enjoyed each other's company and we became friends. Real friends. Or should I say, friends In Real Life. Because I truly believe we were friends a long time before we all met in that restaurant. Or, maybe, even better said, Linda and I were friends and we drew the rest of them into what we already knew existed between us. Respect and admiration. And friendship.

We have another friend we're going to be meeting soon. Cat of Wait.What? will be joining us for a lunch as soon as we can work out the logistics. There are other bloggers in and around the Greater Chicagoland Area - some of which, over time, may want to jump in. Welcome.

There was a reason it worked out for Linda and I - this 'meetup' thing. It had to do with being the same person in real life as you are out here. I knew Linda was going to be bright, funny, intelligent and caring. Because she has shown all those things on her blog. So it was easy. The way it should be. The way it's going to be this coming July.

And the way I THINK it just may be on the weekend of December 5th, 6th and 7th. It looks real good from here for a trip to New York to have lunch with a blog friend, or two, or three on Saturday, the 6th, somewhere in Manhattan, and a brunch on Sunday, the 7th, mid to late morning, depending on my flight time back to Chicago, with another blog friend. SWMBO won't be able to make it, but she said, "You work hard. If you want to go, you should go." I love that woman. But you knew that already, right? Of course you did. Now all I gotta do is figure out where I'm going to stay - I'm open to suggestions from anyone who knows New York and can tell me where I can stay that won't require a mortgage on the house.

This, too, is going to be fun.

I know many of you will be doing all kinds of family things and stuff tomorrow. Blogging will be the last thing on many of your minds. So let me say Happy Thanksgiving to you, my cyber family. I am so thankful for each and every one of you.

May tomorrow be a day in which you truly enjoy ...

PEACE

22 comments:

Anonymous said...

That is a tough question because I know my answer changes almost daily, sometimes hourly.

Jientje said...

As we are thankful for you Lou.
Blog friends ARE special, and what's so great about meeting them is that you feel like you already know them before you meet them for real!
It's funny how you "know" somebody in New York or Chicago better than your own neighbours! How I wish some miracle would happen and that I could meet all of you guys in Chicago! But it would take a miracle. *sigh*
Anyway, I'm having a meeting with one of my Belgian blog friends and her husband tonight. We have become very good friends in real life, and we go out photo hunting together very often.So it will be fun!
Happy Thanksgiving Lou, enjoy your family!

Shadow said...

aaaaah, i also wanna come, heee heeee heeeee

Nan Sheppard said...

Waaaait a minute.... Tash is going to New York.... Nah man, Whaddyjaleis dis?

Christy said...

Glad it went so well!

Happy T-giving, if I don't stop by again till after!

MissyBoo said...

Happy Thanksgiving!
Maybe we should start calling you Mr Meet-Up? There's no stopping you now :-)

hockeychic said...

Happy Thanksgiving Lou. May you and your family have a joyous day filled with many blessings.

hockeychic said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
moneythoughts said...

While I am sure it is fun to meet the people you blog with, (I haven't met anyone yet), the beauty of blogging is that distance is no longer an obstacle to sharing ideas and conversation. I love reading your blog and all the comments, and while I think it would be nice to meet you in person, I am happy for what we have - blogging.

Have a Happy Thanksgiving Lou!

Emily/Randomability said...

Happy Thanksgiving!

Off topic here: When you say Annie, I think of John Denver and "Annie's Song" one of my ALL TIME FAVORITE!

Suzanne said...

Lou, that is so awesome that you'll get to meet more blog friends.

I'm no help on the NYC front-I always had a family member's house to crash at when I visited up there.

Unknown said...

Your trip to NY sounds like a ton of fun. I hope it works out and you can go.

Happy TG to you, too. I'm powering off my computer in a few minutes and won't turn it back on until Friday morning. It's been a busy week and will get worse before getting better. The good news? This afternoon will be filled with cooking! YUM.

Expat No. 3699 said...

A meeting at the beginning of December sounds great and I'm actually off on the 5th.

I'm not sure who you're meeting with in New York, but I'm sure it will be fantastic.

Happy Thanksgiving, Lou. To you and your entire family.

Anonymous said...

I am so glad it all worked out the way you guys expected and there will be more meetups to come with others.

I think the group of people here on your blog is that kind of people that are what they are, in bloglife as well as in real life.

Have a great day tomorrow & hugs, Nicole

Wait. What? said...

Lou as I said before I am looking forward to it. It is scary because in some respects I write more about msyelf than even my best friends know - I don't talk, I write. BUT I so apprecaite all of the comments and support you have given me and I am grateful for bloggers like you in my cyber family.

After you wrote your comment - on my last blog I got creative and write this based on that comment:

At the end of the day
When its all said and done
I would be lying to say
To say I did not want to run
To get away from the heartbreak the
Pain and despair
To go far away
To just not care

________________________________

But of course we know its not as easy as just not caring, not unless there is some self medication going on anyhow!

Be well - have a happy holiday!

Cat

Jennifer said...

how great that you got to meet up with some one from blog land in real life... so amazing. i would really love to meet up with all my regular blog buddies... okay and some of the wierdos too. just kidding.

i'm feel funny today. :) can you tell??

the sun is shining and i'm realizing that i am the dession maker in my life... i can have a great day or a shitty day... it is all in my hands...
and also reflecting on life, i also realize i have a hell of a lot of things to be thankful for.

things are going better here... we are getting along better, still not agreeing on everything, but that is okay... life is getting back to normal. :)

so cool that you will be in NYC!! wow!! I love Manhattan... would like to visit there more often or have an apartment there for weekend trips. :) i'm not sure of any where to stay in the city... and to be quite honest, i think most places in Manhattan will be pricey or scary. lol

maybe you could stay just outside of the city and take a train in... westchester is nice, and maybe cheaper, but not sure how far you want to be out of the city... you could also check out some places in Jersey... they would be cheaper to stay and the train isn't much at all to ride into the city. just a suggestion.

when in the city you MUST go see the TREE, of course, FAO Schwartz, Mickey Mantle's Restaurant, Staint Patrick's Cathedral, Rockefeller Center (where the tree is and NBC studios), Radio City, and I've heard great things about the Circle Line boat that you can get a tour of Manhattan from the water.

here is a great link for visiting Manhattan...

http://www.ny.com/maps/shopmap.html

I hope you have the BEST time in NYC!! :) It really is one of the BEST cities in the world! And I hear it is way better than that other big city... the windy city or something... what is that place Chicago?? huh? yeah... way better than that place!! ;)

Have a great Thanksgiving... I'm very thankful for you being my friend... and when I say my thanks tomorrow, I will be sure you are on my list!! :)

please give my best to your family. eat lots, drink well and be merry!! :)

xoxoxo HUGS!!!

Anonymous said...

Ooh, I do hope you get to go to New York! I agree that it's like meeting people you've already met when they come across as just who they are on the blog. I'm already looking forward to trying to meet you the next time I'm in Chicago, hopefully late February, maybe sooner to see family. I get all giddy about meet ups! :)

witchypoo said...

The only blogger I have met in RL is Warrior Woman. She started her blog after I blogged about an outing with her. I have a list of bloggers I would like to meet. You're on it.

Anonymous said...

Happy Squanto Day!!
(www.uvureview.com- article by Yours Truly)

Unknown said...

Kimmylyn: Well, we'll just have to see then won't we?

Jientje: This will be a good Thanksgiving. They always are.

Shadow: And we'd love it if you could, too.

Nan: 'S'okay. No problem. She gon bring da Trini guy wid her.

Christy: And a Happy Thanksgiving to you too, Christy:

M+B: Just what I need. Another nickname.

Hockeychic: Thank you, ma'am. You and yours, as well.

Moneythoughts: On the other hand, if bloggers live near one another, why not meet up?

Emily: Me, too. I think of that song all the time.

Suzanne: And I, unfortunately, have no family there.

Hyphen Mama: Cooking? How about if I make a trip to Denver. I can be there in 12 hours.

Employee: We'll see how it all works out. The New York thing may turn out to be too soon for the planning department.

Nicole: And a big HUG right back to you, Nicole.

Cat: I never said 'Don't care.' Make THEM care.

Jennifer: There you are!! HUGS to you to - and a Happy Thanksgiving.

Maggies Mind: Anytime you're in the area - you just let me know.

Witchypoo: You are right at the top of mine, too.

Loraine: And a pleasant Squanto Day to you, too. Nice article, too.

Momisodes said...

NYC!!! On the 6th?

Ah poop.

NYC is an incredibly short and cheap bus ride away. BUT, I just agreed to babysit for a neighbor that day :(

Ndinombethe said...

Woo-hoo! Me thinks me knows who you're meeting up with :)