A Micro-Meetup in the Middle of Nowhere: Me and the LtsCol

 

I’ve been a member of Ricochet for ten years, nine months, and twelve days.  (But who’s counting?) I joined only seven months after the site went live, and after lurking for a few months on the advice of Powerline’s John Hinderaker, from his August 9, 2010 post, Moonlighting at Ricochet.  While I enjoyed my first few months on the down-low, I was galvanized into activity by the following post, which appeared on November 9 of that year:

member-feed

Yes, that’s right.  For the first few months of the site, there was no “Member Feed.”  And it took a while longer for things like Personal Messaging (PMs), “Likes,” “Groups” and many of the other nuisances splendid features we’ve come to know and love, to matriculate downfield.  (Rare sports analogy; h/t Hank Stram.)***

But when I discovered I could write my heart out and–with a single mouse click–publish the results before–if not quite the world, at least the Ricochet membership–I was sold.  Nothing was going to stand in my way.  Not the Romney Wars.  Not the SSM Wars.  Not the Social Conservative Wars (some overlap on the foregoing, it’s true.)

And especially not the Trump Wars.

So here I still am.  A survivor, if you will.  And mightily grateful for the friendship I’ve found here, and the privilege of calling a few of you among the best friends I have.  To borrow from, and slightly misquote, Her Majesty’s marvelously understated recap of her own annus horribilis, “the last decade is not one on which I shall look back with undiluted pleasure.”

Except for my friendships with some of you.

Last night, I met, for the first time IRL, two new friends: @somecallmetim, and Mrs. Tim.  They are processing across the country to participate in a number of family events on both sides, and found themselves passing through my neck of the woods.  (I suspect they went somewhat out of their way to do so, but they were gracious enough to pretend otherwise.)

And so we gathered at Angelos, a local watering hole at which I’ve also had the privilege of dining with Mr. and Mrs. Skipsul, as well as with @gdliii  and the lovely Missus over the past few years. (TBPC, I remember it in its previous, hole-in-the-wall incarnation.  It’s a little more upscale now, but the food is just as good, and the people just as friendly.)

I knew that Tim was a career USMC officer (it’s in his profile), but was delighted to find that Mrs. Tim is as well, and was thrilled to listen to their stories of service and kindness, as well as learning more about their family, talking about our shared interests in technology, our common experiences, and discussing our affection for this odd little site on which we invest so much of ourselves.  Is it worth it?  We concluded it probably is. (Working on getting Mrs. Tim more involved.  You’ll like her, I promise.)

Along the way, we acknowledged the passing of a much-loved member, the late, great, Boss Mongo, and with it, the realization that we should never pass up an opportunity for friendship, kindness, and grace, whenever such is proffered, and no matter how annoying or bizarre, on occasion, a particular member might seem.  Way to go, Boss!  Doing the Lord’s work, even now. Miss you much.

Gosh, it was fun.  And I hope there’ll be opportunities for return visits, and more visits, and continued fellowship across the years.

This, dear friends, is what makes Ricochet worth it to me.  As brilliant as some of you are, as sure as I am I can’t go toe-to-toe with you in some areas, as diverse (in the best sense of the word) our expertise is (and yeah, I bow to many of you in many areas on that front, but am also pretty sure that no-one here has built a better chicken coop than me in the last twelve months), there is nothing–absolutely nothing–more meaningful and important than the personal relationships we establish.

God bless you all.  And thank you, Tim, Mrs. Tim, and everyone else who’s touched my life in the last eleven years.

***If, for some inexplicable reason, you’re interested in the early days, here’s a post I wrote on my sixth Ricoversary, in which I looked at, and commented on, every post that appeared on my first day on the site, December 12, 2010.  I have, indeed, written my heart out here in the last eleven years.  Thank you all, those who’ve responded, kept me going, propped me up, and seen me through.  And thank you Tim and Mrs. Tim, for coming along for the ride. Excelsior!  And–from the late Mr. She (I know)–an enduring Semper Fi.

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There are 17 comments.

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  1. Arahant Member
    Arahant
    @Arahant

    Nifty neat.

    • #1
  2. JennaStocker Member
    JennaStocker
    @JennaStocker

    This made my day. Congratulations on ten years, nine months, and twelve days. This place is brighter with you here!

    • #2
  3. Susan Quinn Contributor
    Susan Quinn
    @SusanQuinn

    Wonderful post! And we are so thrilled to share this site with you, She. It sounds like your meet-up was delightful; thanks for the pix, too!

    • #3
  4. iWe Coolidge
    iWe
    @iWe

    Fantastic!

    I was a latecomer: 23 March 2011. Golly. I have been here over 10 years?! What was I thinking?!

    • #4
  5. GLDIII Purveyor of Splendid Malpropisms Reagan
    GLDIII Purveyor of Splendid Malpropisms
    @GLDIII

    I still get Psymon right?  😘

    • #5
  6. EHerring Coolidge
    EHerring
    @EHerring

    Excellent post! This is a special place for friendship, even when we disagree. 

    • #6
  7. dajoho Member
    dajoho
    @dajoho

    I can’t like this enough.  Truly glad you all enjoyed your time and spoke of the Boss.  Wish I could have been there. 

     

    • #7
  8. Percival Thatcher
    Percival
    @Percival

    iWe (View Comment):

    Fantastic!

    I was a latecomer: 23 March 2011. Golly. I have been here over 10 years?! What was I thinking?!

    Dunno.

    I joined eight days after you did because the podcast was going to be behind the paywall and Mark Steyn was a hoot. Then Mark took off. Then they didn’t move the podcast. I stayed because – well – James Lileks took over for Mark and the Member Feed is a blast.

    • #8
  9. She Member
    She
    @She

    GLDIII Purveyor of Splendid Ma… (View Comment):

    I still get Psymon right? 😘

    LOL.

    Not psure.

    Unlike psome, I’ll ptrust him to pmake up his own pmind.  He pknows whereof his pbread is pbuttered.  (I pthink.)

    #IAmStuccoedAllOverWithQuadrupeds

     

    • #9
  10. GLDIII Purveyor of Splendid Malpropisms Reagan
    GLDIII Purveyor of Splendid Malpropisms
    @GLDIII

    She (View Comment):

    GLDIII Purveyor of Splendid Ma… (View Comment):

    I still get Psymon right? 😘

    LOL.

    Not psure.

    Unlike psome, I’ll ptrust him to pmake up his own pmind. He pknows whereof his pbread is pbuttered. (I pthink.)

    #IAmStuccoedAllOverWithQuadrupeds

     

    He is such a sweet little cat, I can see getting him a set of these to fulfill his dreams of flying.

    • #10
  11. Some Call Me ...Tim Coolidge
    Some Call Me ...Tim
    @SomeCallMeTim

    A great post, as we have come to expect from you, She.  An additional bonus is that it features my favorite topic, Me. Mrs. Tim and I are indeed honored to be mentioned in it. 

    We had a wonderful time meeting you over a delicious dinner, and the conversation was delightful.  Plus, we got a bottle of whiskey and English toffee out of the deal.  Thank you so much for all of it.  

    I heartily second your thoughts on the value of Ricochet and the friendships one may develop there. As I make the transition from working man to an Official Man of Leisure Certified by the State of Louisiana, I find the connections I make on Ricochet to be increasingly important and meaningful. Being able to meet those people in person has been a joy (at least for me, maybe not so much for them).

     To make these meetings happen, I am currently on a road trip, during which I aim to achieve a Hat Trick of Mini-Meetups, and plan to write a post detailing my adventures. 

    Again, thank you for the post and sharing dinner with us. We hope Jenny is happy that we did not turn out to be the usual online serial killers that one typically meets on the interwebs. 

    • #11
  12. She Member
    She
    @She

    Some Call Me …Tim (View Comment):
    Again, thank you for the post and sharing dinner with us. We hope Jenny is happy that we did not turn out to be the usual online serial killers that one typically meets on the interwebs.

    LOL.  For the uninitiated, my stepdaughter, who manages my relationships in order to keep me out of (any more) trouble, requires me to text her when I get home safely from a “date” with new friend(s), as she wants to make sure I don’t end up in the trunk of someone’s car and disappear forever.  It’s nice to be so loved.  LOL.  (Perhaps I shouldn’t even suggest such things to folks who may not have thought of them yet….)

    Thank you Tim, I’m glad you and Mrs. Tim enjoyed the evening too.  And I am looking forward to your post on your adventures.  Please be safe, both of you, on the journey home.  (That reminds me, I forgot to expound on the time I moved to Boulder, CO for 72 hours.  A story for next time, perhaps.)

    • #12
  13. Dr. Bastiat Member
    Dr. Bastiat
    @drbastiat

    EHerring (View Comment):

    Excellent post! This is a special place for friendship, even when we disagree.

    Oh, it is not…

    • #13
  14. She Member
    She
    @She

    GLDIII Purveyor of Splendid Ma… (View Comment):

    She (View Comment):

    GLDIII Purveyor of Splendid Ma… (View Comment):

    I still get Psymon right? 😘

    LOL.

    Not psure.

    Unlike psome, I’ll ptrust him to pmake up his own pmind. He pknows whereof his pbread is pbuttered. (I pthink.)

    #IAmStuccoedAllOverWithQuadrupeds

     

    He is such a sweet little cat, I can see getting him a set of these to fulfill his dreams of flying.

    Please do not give him any ideas…

    • #14
  15. She Member
    She
    @She

    dajoho (View Comment):

    I can’t like this enough. Truly glad you all enjoyed your time and spoke of the Boss. Wish I could have been there.

    I wish so too!  It’ll happen some day, somewhere.  

    • #15
  16. KentForrester Coolidge
    KentForrester
    @KentForrester

    @She, do you consider me one of your Ricochet friends, or is this a one-way relationship?

    • #16
  17. She Member
    She
    @She

    KentForrester (View Comment):

    @ She, do you consider me one of your Ricochet friends,

    I do indeed!

    or is this a one-way relationship?

    Of course not.  (By which, if you’re saying that you think of me as one of your RFs, then I’m very glad about that.  Especially as it increases my chances, one of these days, perhaps, of meeting Bob the Dog and the lovely Marie….oh, and you too, of course….)

    It is indeed a wonderful thing that this country is so vast, except when it comes to easily meeting those we’ve known only online.  Still, you never know.  One of these days…

     

    • #17
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