Fruits of the Blogosphere

Last night I did something that (I think) is a bit unusual in America.

I met for dinner, two “friends” whom I’ve never met before.

I was in Philadelphia* for work, and I knew that it was the hometown of one of my favorite bloggers, so I asked if she and her husband would meet me for dinner.

And they did. And they did it without any reservations (at least none that I know of). And they did it on short notice, and they were thoroughly awesome**. And it was wonderful, and we hope to do it again the next time I’m in the city of brotherly love.

It all reminded me of an event that took place earlier this year. I was out of town traveling for work. I went to a restaurant at the hotel where I was staying, and I had breakfast. The place was relatively crowded, and the only table left for me was a table for four.

Not long after starting to eat, two women sat down at my table. They made no comment to me. They sat. They went to the buffet. They sat again and started to eat. As they ate, they spoke to each other in a language that was Scandinavian. I could only pick out a few words like: “handsome” “charming” and “well-groomed.” I have no idea who they were talking about – but I digress.

After time, I struck up a conversation with my uninvited (but welcomed) breakfast companions and gradually got a place where I felt comfortable telling them that it is a bit unusual to share a table in America (especially without saying – “do you mind if we sit here?” – I left that part out). They explained that it’s not that unusual in Sweden. With coy winks, they asked me what I was doing later that night, and I said “polishing the sterling silver picture frame that holds the photo of my wife and daughter.” They were crestfallen, but…

That’s how I roll. I’m focused like that.

So, if I could share a table with two Swedish women who may or may not have a web log, then why could I not share a table with two intelligent, progressive and wonderful Philadelphians who do?

Anyway, I really enjoyed dinner with friends*** in Philly. I now have three friends I’ve met in person as a result of the blogosphere****.


*The City of Philadelphia was made famous by the hit film “Philadelphia” starring Denzel Washington and Tom Hanks.

**They were down to earth and just plain cool. If they lived in Minnesota, I know we’d hang. We talked about meeting again the next time I’m in Philly. Philadelphia also factors prominently in our nation's history, but I'm not clear on the details there.

***Notice the quotation marks, visible in paragraph 2 above, are gone. Awwww...

****The first was Jinx, a frequent commenter to ILIM.