It was a holiday, a very special holiday, with someone very special.
I met her a long time ago on the internet. It seems very implausible, doesn't it, all as a result of exchanging blog comments, with an internet stranger, far away.
It's easy to think that people on the internet aren't real, -like the people you see in the backgrounds of movies. But they are real. You,, me, we are real. And in this medium, some of us sometimes interact. But to take it a step further, to converse outside the blogs, to email, eventually to speak, -that takes us out of our comfort zones, into, maybe, risk.
We can, by carelessness or stupidity, hurt each other, or be wounded ourselves. Some say it's a dangerous place, cyberspace, but is it any more so than real life?
Over time, we got to know each other, and decided to take that next scary step of meeting. It was scary for me, what if.... what if she decided that she didn't like the real me? the human me, as opposed to the pusher of words? What if she despised my home, my way of life, my world?
But mine was the easier part. She came a long way to see me, on unfamiliar ground, her friends warned her it was unwise, yet she took those brave steps and risked the possibility that I might be a serial killer or crazed madman.
You may think it not such a big deal, but I think it took a lot of courage. I'm glad she did.
That first visit was a foundation- she seems to like me, because she came back...
I won't go into too much detail, beyond that she makes me very happy and I wish I'd met her long ago.
And I hope she's in my life to stay.
We've spent a lot of time travelling , exploring places in this small but richly detailed country called England. Here are a few of our favourite places, there are many more yet to be explored;
Well, that's very nice. You kinda overdid it with the pictures, though. I had to scroll & scroll & ....
ReplyDeleteThe truth is, I met my current lover on blogger. For the time being he is perfect. We see each other every couple of weeks. The sex is great but I admit, sometimes I do get lonely in between.
And sometimes it works out like a dream and changes your life in ways you never imagined.
ReplyDeleteCongratulations. It is good to see you happy.
Wow! I LOVE the photos!
ReplyDeleteI love that joker statue...is it you? The one i predicted would be erected in your honor?
ReplyDeleteits true that a lot of folks misrepresent themselves thru the internet... but I have found no disingenuity here Souby...and am pleased to hear you and Your "Mystery Date" have found LOVE!
My wife and I were pen pals, like with pencil, paper, and stamps, for over three years before we met in person. Probably wrote a thousand pages or so each. When I did meet her in person, nother about her was a surprise. I thought there would have been something I missed in her writing but there wasn't because her writing was genuine. If this person you met had been faking something in her writing, you'd have spotted it a mile away. Anyway, The pilgrimage to Tittybottle park was worth whatever gas you had to burn to get there. The crumbling castle reminds me of one the I saw around Edinbourgh but I may be remembering it wrong. It's been a while.
ReplyDeleteChrist mate you covered a few miles there.Nice pictures,glad you had a good time.
ReplyDeleteThis happiness is deserved for two very lovely people.
ReplyDeleteSmiling!
Handmaiden, repeated scrolling is good exercise, for those of us prone to indolence at the computer.
ReplyDeleteAs for your other problem?
Batteries.
Deb, thank you, I wish you every happiness too.
Lynn, I'm glad you like the photos. All the very best ones, of course, are taken by me... And she took the rest. Hahahahahaaaaa! She claims the opposite. Grrrrrrr!
Yosemite Sam, I mean, um Bulletholes... Alas, the fool is not a statue of me. It's far too lithe and nimble. If I ever get a statue, I trust it will portray me in some characteristic pose... like having just dropped some keys down a drain, or having just stuck my fingers in a live electric socket.
If it's true to character, it should mutter "Where the f*** did I put that screwdriver?" at regular intervals, and fart silently, as groups of tourists pass.
Dave! Did you hijack that kayak, sir?
Tittybottle Park is in a nearby town, only about twenty minutes away. Just across the road from Dunny's Caff, a roadside cafe filled with bikers and builders, workmen and pensioners, big plates of food cheap. and, being in England, good big mugs of steaming tea.
The signs went up a couple of years ago, it's been referred to by the locals as Tittybottle Park for a hundred years, but was on the maps as "Manor Parade Gardens", -the council, in a rare show of humour, decided to concede to the local name.
None of the pictures is Edinburgh, the crumbling ruin is not, in fact a castle, it's the remains of an abbey, Rievaulx Abbey in North Yorkshire, There's a castle in the pics, but it's in pretty good repair, part of it is still lived in, that's Skipton Castle.
If people ask me to do so, I might caption them, but I quite like images without too much information.
Most of them are in Yorkshire, a few are in Stratford on Avon, Warwickshire.
Fatboysblog- oh yes, we covered a lot of miles, but I did cheat.. The careful viewer will notice a couple of pics from our earlier travels, in wintertime. Poor girl, she's a creature of warm climates, and shivered constantly indoors and out in the wintertime. I said, to hell with the expense, took pity upon her, and lit a second candle. Also, every morning I went out and broke the ice on the horse-trough ready for her bath, that's just how generous we Yorkshiremen are.
Minx- Thankee nicely. Big smile back, O wise one.
xxx
ReplyDeleteAnonymous:
ReplyDeleteAre you a mystery bloglurker?
or is this a drive-by xxx-ing?
Have we met?
Are you my mystery lady?
or?
Hmmmmmmmmmmmmm.
Wowee! I have also met a large number of bloggers, from the US and Canada, and none of us is axe murderers and all of us have many things in common. It is pretty special, alright!
ReplyDeleteDang, these are some pictures. Don't be surprised if me and the wife are on your doorstep some day looking for some of these sights.
Mister Rith, I just discovered this comment, unanswered... Yes, I think theres some great people out there blogging, the bad ones?
ReplyDeleteI don't read their blogs, I hope.
I suppose those blogs we enjoy tend to be those which are written by people with similarities to ourselves.
If you n' the wife come over, you're welcome on my doorstep any time... I might even open the door! Bring the beagle too.