Withering Heights
DW and I had an interesting discussion, last night. (Yes, Larry, this is why your ears were burning. ). As with most of our talks, we're not quite sure how we got on the topic, but DW made a comment about how tall she thought Larry was. (Don't ask...I said I didn't know how we got here, so just enjoy the ride.).
I had a different impression of Larry and I asked DW why she thought what she did. She said, "I dunno, he just writes 'tall'...I dunno!?"
"Writes tall"?
On the face of it, that assessment is somewhat absurd. But when you think about it, its a bit of an interesting question of perception and the workings of the mind's eye. I mean, is it really possible to convey some of your tangibles to your writing? Does J.K. Rowling write taller than Stephen King? Or are they the same write height? Let's take a look at this little blog circle...Does anyone think that Duff should really be in the WNBA? Or maybe that Kal is a sawed-off runt? (No need to rush to the defence of your first-born, Motherdear...I was speaking rhetorically.).
What other perceptions of each other do we hold that would be shattered on first meet? What blanks have we been filling in? Do we see only what we want to see? What exactly do we think about when we comment at one another?
And then the ol' brain really got going.
Imagine all of us meeting at the same time. Who would be disappointed when meeting the in-person drive behind the blog? Who might find some secret lust? (Exluding those already made part of the public record *grin*). Would some kind of personal or perceptual prejudice change our interactions?
What if we discovered that it was all a lie? What if Larry was really a 14 y/o teenager with Magnum PI aspirations? What if Danikabur was really some very lonely, lonely guy with some kind of hidden agenda? Is it possible that Cricket titled her blog to describe the things she lacks? Does Callie write Lowk's blog as a way to preserve the memory of her deceased soulmate? Our perceptions of others would change, but are we self-aware enough to see these things within ourselves?
Truth is, apart from those folks who have met in person, none of us really know about one another beyond what we put up in the blog. We take it all on faith. I didn't articulate all of this to DW, but since we've both met people we initially encountered online I think its safe to say she knows where I'm coming from. (While I think of it, remind me to tell you about a couple of now-funny online date stories.)
Now, do I really think all of this about all of you? Of course not. But it sure makes you think, doesn't it?
12 comments:
It was Kal that said that Larry was tall, because he wrote tall. I just agreed.
You're right, though, I'm sure there are lots of things that don't come across in blogland. Someone chews with their mouth open; someone is probably far more introverted than they appear on their blog; someone is far prettier than they lead us to believe; someone is hurting so very badly that sometimes they can't breathe.
Maybe I'm an optimist, but I think that what comes out on a blog is the good stuff that a person wants you to see. At least for our friends, here. You know, the stuff that's deep inside them that maybe they've never expressed because no one's given them an opportunity to do so.
I'd love the opportunity to get everyone together. I think it would be an incredible laugh and merely forge greater bonds between us. I still think we should do a "blogger's cruise", so that we can all meet on neutral ground. Either that or have as many as we can meet us in Vancouver in October. I want to meet my friends, give them hugs, hear their voices, share laughs and jokes, too. The bigger the circle of friends, the better. But you knew that about me.
I think the meeting is beautiful idea. For the record, Larry is 5'9", he said so one his posts about himself.
I am 5'9'-5'10" depending on the doctor's office. How tall did you think I was? I love finding out about people through their words. I have yet to meet anyone from the online world. I have a friend who admitted exactly how shallow he was and how much he appreciated the internet because it allowed him a great friendship, that he would have never had if he had met this person face to face before getting to know them.
I like to think everyone is being honest and will always take things at face value until I find out otherwise. However, being in my profession I definitely don't subscribe to anything until it is proven to be true.
Great post. I love to imagine people and events. It is one of the reasons I enjoy reading so much in the first place.
Great post is right. When I first met (in person) the online people I have met I was very worried. I was fairly certain they were who they said (seemed) they were. However how can you really tell until you meet them.
I wouldn't meet them until some of them met eachother and I 'knew' them for over a year. The first girl I met I had talked to nearly every day for a year as well as talked to her on the phone. I don't think I would have flown to meet her had she not met others first. It just wasn't worth the risk.
I think when you talk to someone online for a very long time you can get a pretty accurate idea of them. Not necessarily on their blogs but if you chat elsewhere (like MSN).
Out of a pretty big group that I originally met online there were a few that I would never meet. Simply because after knowing them online for a while I got an impression of who they really are other than the one they liked to show.
For the record I am not a lonely lonely guy.... just one lonely should be there. ;)
Dan: I stand corrected, ol
buddy, ol' pal. How they hangin'?
They hang great... as usual. :D
Oh man. I belong to a lonely guy? This is just like prison all over again. I hate being the bitch...
...What's that, Bubba? Oh, okay, I'll get the soap. *sighs and bends over*
And I'm the 14 year old girl (runs to look at self in mirror compulsively, or at least that what I dreamt I'd do when all those body switch movies came out in my teens.)
See, you guys are brave; Dani, Erica and Callie particularly. I hide behind a mutilated baby picture (partly because Wifeypooh thinks the internet is evil and everyone on it's a psycho looking to come and kidnap the kids) and won't show personal stuff at all. Over the winter I posted some pics of the prodigious snows we were getting and Wifeypooh nearly had a heart attack.
And we know what Mossy and Cricket and Penny all look like. So it's me, Larry, and Motherdear who may not be exactly who they say they are.
I imagine Larry looks exactly like that cartoon avatar he's got. But with a Mullet, of course.
i could be in the wnba? only as their version of muggsy boggs (i know i botched that last name- sorry, boys).
i'm 5'1" and a fraction (but i round up to 5'2"), and roughly 115 lbs.
i'm up for a meeting- i could use another canadian road trip- i didn't buy enough potato chips last week.
as for secret lust- count me in. i've gotten a few little crushes, myself.
I have now met a few people from online. They are never what I expect. Usually one or both parties is disappointed… so glad to know the Mossy/Penny meeting worked.
Wow. Deep. Sounds sober too. Scary. I say that Cranium is going to be MIGHTY interesting.
Wow, Mossy, your description of Callie writing Lowk's blog as a tribute to her deceased soulmate really gave me chills to think about. That was a hell of a post! (And damn you for posting up a storm when I'm outta town!!) :)
Oh, and for the record, Larry is a 16-year-old girl, not 14. I mean, s/he just got the new wheels!
(You all know the next time I have a posting drought, it's because Larry will have killed me, right? Heh.)
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