So...this isn't good-bye, just an exceptionally mushy post.
If I have to leave a parting thought here for a while, though, it would be this:
A few years back, I developed a crush on the charming and charismatic frontman of a British band called Art Brut. His lyrics blew me away. They were funny and ironic and seemed to expose every fear a 20-something young man could have--which are not that different from the fears a 40-something old woman has. I reached out to him as a friend on Myspace, that antique social medium that revolutionized my six-degrees-of-separation world. Now there could be one degree. To make a long story short, over the years I have met Eddie, hung out with Eddie, drunk vodka-and-apple-juice cocktails and bad wine with him. I have met [through email] Eddie's mom in England [she's exactly 2 months older than I am]. Two of Eddie's paintings hang in my house. He says that the story I've told him of how my preschooler misconstrued the words to one of his songs has become a part of his patter onstage.
Friday was Eddie's birthday. I emailed him my good wishes. He emailed me back his thanks. My point is--never doubt your heart. You can feel a connection through pictures, music, video....to someone you would never have met in your 'normal' life or perhaps will never meet outside of the internet. But the connection is no less real.
So...if you're reading this--I'm connecting with you. And isn't that cool?
