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How can we possibly be friends?
How can I possibly care about you?
I don’t know you.
All I know about you is what you care to tell me, and, to be honest with you, I don’t even know if what you say is truth or fiction. You could be making up these stories about yourself, and I would have no way of finding that out.
I don’t know what you sound like. Perhaps you have a goofy laugh.
Is your voice one of those, nasally, irritating ones? Or is it husky and sultry?
I don’t know. I’ve never heard it, at least not knowingly.
I never will.
I’ve never seen you.
I don’t know how tall you are.
I don’t know any particulars about you.
Do you have a mole? Big ears? Fly-away hair? Are you bow-legged? (I am.)
Do you have a commanding presence when you enter the room?
Is your demeanor frenetic and jagged, or is it smooth and calming?
We have no history together. I know nothing about your past except for what you talk about.
I never met your parents, your pets, your significant other.
I’ve never seen your house or tasted your cooking or talked to you children or your parents.
I don't know what kind of car you drive or even IF you drive.
I don’t know if you cock your head coyly when you tell a joke.
I’ve never seen your smile.
I don’t know if you’re built like Arnold Schwarzenegger or Woody Allen. I have know idea if your body more resembles that of Halle Berry or Moms Mably.
We’ve never shared a meal or a drink together.
Even the pictures I’ve seen of you may not really be you. They probably are, but I couldn’t swear to that.
Do you twirl your hair when you tell a story?
Do you stutter when you get nervous?
Do you shift your weight from one hip to the other when you address a group of people?
Do you sweat easily?
I’ve never seen you cry.
I’ve never seen your face fill up with excitement.
I’ve never heard glee in your words.
I’ve never seen your eyes shoot daggers when you get angry.
Do you speak with an accent?
I know none of these things about you.
None.
I mean, hell, for all I know, your avatar on your blog page could be the picture of a guy or girl that came with your new wallet!
You could run me over on the street, and I wouldn’t know it was you.
And, yet, you are very important to me.
Why?
I think, because, when it comes right down to it, the real foundations of any true relationship has nothing to do with the physical.
A true relationship has to do with the sharing of feelings. The sharing of ideas. It has to do with thoughts and words and emotions. We all share the same human experience to some degree, and, in that respect, we are kin.
So, even though I don’t know you from Adam or Eve, and I couldn’t pick you out in police lineup if my life depended on it, in at least one way, I know you as well as your own mother does.
I know your sense of humor.
I know what excites you.
I know what makes you feel human.
I know your insecurities.
I know what makes you proud.
I know what upsets you, what gladdens you, what makes you angry, what can bring you to tears, the things that you live for, and the things you would die for.
You’re the one who takes wonderful hikes and snaps fantastic photographs.
You design amazing book covers.
You're the editor of an on-line literary magazine.
You are a wonderful cartoonist.
You write exciting novels and love cats.
You are a dyed-in-the-wool vegetarian who wants to open a doggie day care center.
You are the one who cries when you read the plays that I’ve written.
You tell wonderful stories, and truly know how to present a joke.
You are a nurse who really cares about people.
I know you.
And you know me. I’m the one who makes you laugh, or pisses you off, or tells stories that tug at your heart strings.
I’m the one who is completely ignorant of how to deal with technology.
I’m the one who brings my wife a rose every Friday, and I’ve been doing it since she and I first started dating each other.
And I’m the one who, by some strange twist of fate, has become a very real part of your life.
And you have become an essential part of mine too.
You and I have gotten to see a glimpse of each other’s soul.
That’s the beauty of blogging.
And that, in my opinion, is also the fundamental essence of friendship.
Even though we know absolutely nothing about each other, we know everything that is important about each other.
And somehow, you’ve become very important to me.
And I’m so glad that you are in my life!
And you are my friend.
and I actually DO know them all! They expose the embodiment of themselves with their words (their thoughts -- they never lie because they can't). Blogging is an important part of my life. I get to know so many different people... and I do KNOW them and love them... all.
