Have you ever met anyone from the Internet in person?

by Julie Gentry | More from this Blogger

Well, the day is here. Today is the day I get to meet Spoons, Gobs, True, Tharm, Phantom, and a slew of others. Those are, of course, not their real names. Even if I remembered their real names, it would feel strange calling them by them. I've been chatting in a forum for over a year now with these people. We've built friendships of varying levels, from tolerating some of them to great a-feck-shun for others.

Some of them have already met each other in person. Many have gone to various events together. With four children and a husband who likes having me around, I haven't been able to fly all over the country with them. This will be my first time.

I admit, I'm a little nervous. I'm sure that my mental pictures of many of them are completely wrong. I'm imagining True as Kate Jackson, and Phantom as J-Lo. As probably the oldest member of the circle, I wonder how I'll measure up. Does it matter? I'd like to say no, but it does. A little, anyway.

Two of my brothers met their wives on the Internet. I can't imagine doing that. While I'm on the verge of overprotective when it comes to my children on the computer, I think I'm savvy enough that I don't need to have a safety concern. I've left all their phone numbers, street addresses, and phone numbers with dh in case something happened. What I anticipate happening is a gaggle of music aficionados getting together for dinner, a concert, and an after-concert party. We're really a diverse group of people, from the snarky college student in Canada to the professor from Japan with the intelligent posts. All bonded together by our love of good music - specifically, Taylor Hicks' music. Yes, the Soul Patrol is alive and well. Wooooooooo.

Have you ever met anyone face-to-face from the Internet? How did it go?

Learn more about Julie Gentry

Julie is affectionately known as GoGo Mama to her friends since she seems to always be out and about.

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