How a comment on a blog changed my life

On April 24th, 2006, I put up a little post that simply said, "I'm moving to Canada". On April 28th, a young man from New York City left a comment. It wasn't actually directed at me; it was a response to a comment left by David. The thing is, he'd never left a comment before and I didn't even know he was reading this thing to begin with.

And so began the love affair between me and The Retropolitan.

Has it only been 1 1/2 years? It feels like forever.

I have met a lot of amazing people through this blog; David, Andy, Chris, Diane & Darla, to name a few. I have had the pleasure of actually real-life meeting a few of you, but I know that the odds are I'm never going to sit in a room with The Retropolitan. I doubt I'll ever know how he holds a fork or where he puts his napkin, but it really doesn't matter. Because I think I already know those things.

Dear Retro, thank you for leaving that comment that day. Thank you for the daily emails, the e-hugs, the random bits of insanity. Thank you for Wilco, and Sarah, and Genna, and Batman. Thank you for sharing bits of your life with me, things that there are no good reason to have shared. I've never actually looked you in the eye, or seen your eye at all for that matter, but when I talk to you, it's like you're right there in the room. I can't explain it, but I really feel like I know you somehow. You aren't just a person on the other end of and internet connection, you are someone that I know and that I love and that matters to me.

I know a lot of people, and I have a lot of relationships, but I can count on my hands how many of those people really, really get to me, how many I would jump in front of a train for. I have this thick wall I keep around me, and I use that to very carefully keep most of the people in my life at a distance, because I, well, I have some attachment issues that I'm not getting into right now. But with you, I never worried. I knew from day one that you were in, and you were in for life. I can't explain it, and I don't want to.

You were supposed to leave that comment all those years ago; I was supposed to meet you. You have enriched my life in some small way every day since I've known you. You made that whole debacle last year a lot easier, just by being around. And you let me write on your blog for a few months. I thought only Andy was crazy enough to do that.

I could ramble on and on, but I'm sure you have some birthday drinks to attend to, so I'll wrap it up. I love you and I am so very thankful for having you in my life. And as REO Speedwagon said so elegantly, I'm going to keep on loving you. Because it's the only thing I want to do.

Happy birthday my friend. Thanks for being born.