Hal, my wife and I discovered the Internet in 1994 when we moved far, far away from home to a distant galaxy known as "Iowa." Overnight, we were suddenly both completely isolated from anybody that looked like us, talked like us, or thought like us, and it was POWERFULLY lonely. We bought AOL at Wal-Mart and became members (which is where the warrrreagl name came from initially) and our sanity was literally saved.
Each night, we couldn't wait to get online and have conversations with people we'd never met but were fellow Southerners out there who made us feel wanted, appreciated, and needed again. There were times when we probably got too close to people online and I'm sure mistakes were made in the learning process, but I really think we would have gone totally bonkers without the Internet.
Therefore, today I view my online friends as VERY real people and I don't really notice any difference in the way I converse with/admire/hate/avoid online presences than I do fleshy people at work or at home. All of my friendships (whether live or electronic) progress at about the same pace and rate.
As a couple, I think our main regret is that we don't get to go out to eat or go to ballgames with people we know online. I am strongly jealous of those of you who do, and you all should greatly appreciate that luxury.
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Living is easy with eyes closed.
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