Connections

An old friend's podcast/post reminded me of the earlier days of the internet.  Making sure the phone line was connected to the modem, making sure "call waiting" was turn off so I wouldn't get booted off-line, and settling myself in my chair to wait: these became a ritual as I listened to the beeps, buzzes, and other assorted noises that meant I would soon be connected to the World Wide Web.  

Competition for those connections was fierce in that little NC town I moved to just after my divorce. There was only one number that wasn't long distance, so it often took several minutes for the modem to connect.  I would sing along with the techno-beeps - "Go through and connect, go through and connect." Sometimes, after a particularly long wait, I would cheer when the computer indicated "connected".   It made meeting new people in a new state a little easier.  An email address is simple, and I used a college nickname, which was always a conversation starter.  

But it wasn't until the last few years, with the advent of DSL, cable, and social networking sites that I really became awed by the possiblity of connections.   I found my spouse, my beautiful, wonderful spouse, on a "Religious Experiences" message board on America Online. I heard from my first boyfriend from highschool, who sent me me pictures of his adorable children, and updated me on his life. It seems to be a good life, and I'm glad that we're in contact now. 

I started "blogging", sometimes about social issues, sometimes about just "stuff", and often about progressive politics in North Carolina. For those of you not in the state, it does exist.  We are indeed a BlueNC, now.  I am proud to have been a small part of the organizations that worked tirelessly to elect a Democratic Senator, to have 8 out of our 13 Congresscritters Democrats, and a Democratic President.  We have a Democratic Governor (and our first female governor),  and our legislature is a solid Democratic majority.  We are the first of the deep south states to turn blue.  

The advent of Facebook and MySpace occurred simultaneously with me having a teenage child, so I felt I had to know what was going on on those sites. For some time, I felt I was the oldest person online.  I met new friends in my area who were interested in the same political and social causes that fire me up. 

My facebook page includes politicians I support, my nieces and nephews, my cousins - one of whom is older than I am (whew)! Even my 82 year old aunt is now on facebook. What a delight! It's not as if I couldn't have picked up the phone and called any of these people, and it's not as if I couldn't have written individual emails (which I do), and I am certainly still capable of writing snail mail, though I couldn't tell you the last time I did it. 

Now I've connected with a group of friends from college.  I never thought I'd ever hear or see any of them again. I enjoy catching up with them - learning about their lives, discovering that one is a published author (who would have thought?)

I am far more likely to attend the next college reunion. I never thought I would go. But now these folks are my friends again. Who would have thought?