Internet Friends

Someone on the Vent brought up the name "Jinxie" today. I don't really know why her name was brought into the conversation, but it was. Jinxie is a friend of mine. We used to sit up late at night, talking and talking and talking (online). We shared a love for trivia, we loved the same movies and TV shows. She hosted a message board that I loved, and on the message board was a chat box, where she hosted a trivia game each week. Usually it was just me and Beverly playing along with Jinxie, but sometimes one or two others would join in. I remember one time when I asked the question "what number cannot be represented in Roman numerals?". Jinxie replied with "I'm not Roman, how could I know that?!?" (the answer was 0). I enjoyed our late night chats, but never got the chance to meet her. One day, her message board was taken down and I never heard from her again. I always wonder why? Why did she have to delete her board? If she liked me too, why didn't she contact me after the board was no longer around? She just kind of came into my life quickly and then vanished just as quickly. I hate that.

I have another internet friend named "Doggy Bruno". His real name is Brian. He lives in Minneapolis, with his aged dog, Bruno. We have probably been emailing each other for about 10 years. We speak once or twice a week. Mostly about our jobs, our dogs, or boyfriends, etc. He's a hairdresser and a party boy! I've always enjoyed our conversations and feel like I know him, yet we've never met. We've shared lots of emails and stories, but we could pass each other on the street and not even recognize each other, probably.

How weird is this new world of technology that we're living in? How is it that we can have such deep feelings for people that we've never met face to face? Maybe things will turn around and someday I will get the chance to meet Jinxie and Doggy Bruno.