The world is getting smaller by the day

The house next door was listed for sale a few weeks ago. I found out this morning that it was snapped up yesterday by a guy from Southern California - and he is someone who you have met on these pages!

I was backing my van out of the driveway to make room for another wave of contractors when I saw this trim-looking guy ambling down the neighboring driveway with a friendly smile on his face.

He introduced himself as Tom King, my new neighbor. When I introduced myself, his jaw dropped and he asked, "Are you David St Lawrence, the blogger?"

When I owned up to being myself, he started to laugh.

"I know all about you! I wondered why your house is so familiar. I've seen it on your blog!"

Tom King is the reader who commented on my blog in reference to lack of support from Smart Move. He has also commented on several other local blogs.

It is a strange experience to meet a reader of your weblog for the first time. You start to describe something and you quickly realize this person knows your pets, your friends, and your likes and dislikes. It cuts through the normal introductions because the person really knows a lot about you and if they are standing there smiling, it's because you are already friends.

I brought Tom to the house and introduced him to Gretchen by saying, "This is Tom King, our new neighbor, and he has left comments on my blog."

Gretchen knew immediately who he was and all about his experiences with Smart Move. Within moments we were chatting like old friends and welcoming him to Floyd. We were discussing introducing him around until we realized he knows the Floyd bloggers almost as well as we do.

He even knows about Loki, Doug Thompson's ailing kitten. Like I said at the outset, the world is getting smaller and we have a new old friend.

Tom is not a blogger yet, he says, but he is a ham radio enthusiast. I don't think he realizes that ham radio was an earlier form of the communication we enjoy as bloggers. Blogging also lets you reach out and touch others, but it offers the additional factor of persistence. As a ham operator what you say is lost once you are off the air.

I believe Tom is staying in the Radford area until he can move in next door. In the meantime, if you meet him at the Blue Ridge Restaurant, Cafe Del Sol or at Oddfellas, give him a big hello.

Comments

[Ric]

You can't do anything wrong these days - somebody who knows you is never far away!

[Sean Pecor]

I've had more than one visit to our horse farm from those living in the area, where very nearly the first words out of their mouth were "I recognize you from your blog!"

Many ham radio enthusiasts back in the eighties in my experience were also very much enthusiasts in the bulletin board system era, which lasted through the eighties and into the early nineties. In very nearly every pocket of the country, there were several local BBS systems that you could connect directly to and converse via ASCII with other local users. When the Web was being mainstreamed, the "BBS" quickly waned. At the time, it was very unfortunate, because only until recently has the Web, originally a global community, matured well enough to also offer support to local communities. I've lamented that loss of these local online meeting places although blogs are certainly helping to fill that void.

Meeting and maintaining friendships strictly online is a wonderful thing, but in my mind a good conversation in person is irreplaceable. Kudos to fate for handing you a neighbor who was originally an actor in your digital realm!

Sean

[colleen]

That is wild! Do you think the blogging about Floyd County cemented the deal?

[Tom King]

Thanks guys, for the warm welcome. I'm staying at my daughter-in-law's in Blacksburg until Saturday, then back to Hesperia, CA until the house closes on Mar 8. My dog. Sweetie and I will then head east in our pickup.

[GBGames]

It really threw me for a loop the first time someone responded to a statement I made with, "I heard that before...actually, I think I read it on your blog."

[David St Lawrence]

When everyone has heard your stories and jokes before, it just means that you need to create new ones.

Putting your ideas out on the Internet forces you to stay continually creative. That's not a bad thing at all. :)

[Sean Pecor]

Nah, you don't need to create new ones. All you need is a wee bit of Irish in 'ya, and then all your stories can grow larger by the tellin!

[Marie]

NOw that is bizarre! Cool, but bizarre.