At Long Last...

History was made in lower Manhattan this week and I'm proud to say that I was part of it.

After nearly three years of communicating through our blogs, I finally met Ron of Vent in the real world right outside my office on Broadway.

It was like Abbott meeting Costello, Lewis meeting Clark, or Heckle meeting Jeckle.

Ron, who lives in Philadelphia, came up to New York with the lovely and talented Val of Photo A Day Blog for a day on the town.

Even though we had planned to do this a while ago, I still couldn’t quite believe it when my phone rang and I heard Ron’s voice telling me that he and Val were standing outside my building.

It was so strange speaking with someone in the flesh after all these years of keyboarding. And it was fabulous.

Look, if Superman and Batman can get together for a movie, then it’s high time Ron and I did a meet and greet.

Ron has been one of my most loyal, most supportive readers, always stopping by with a kind word and a thoughtful observation.

Hallowed Ground

Through his blog, I learned about Ron’s love for “The Love Boat,” “Somewhere in Time,” and York Peppermint Patties.

I was amazed when, within a short time of each other, we both wrote posts about Bobby Darin and about being trapped in elevators, though Ron’s elevator experience was far worse than mine.

And my heart ached last November when Ron told us about his mom's death. As someone who still grieves for his mother after 11 years, I can honestly say I felt Ron’s pain.

Thanks to Ron I’ve “met” several other great bloggers, like Jay at The Depp Effect, Bijoux at Bytes from the ‘Burbs, and CrystalChick at Mary Says... And now Val.

We were all drawn together by Ron’s gravitational field. Like the U.S. Navy, Ron is a global force for good.

The three of us went to nearby St. Paul’s Chapel, which was built in 1764 and is the oldest surviving church in Manhattan.

After the 9/11 attacks, the chapel served as a place of rest and refuge for recovery workers at the World Trade Center site and there are several exhibits commemorating this period.

I’ve been to St. Paul’s many times, but it felt really special visiting this sacred place with friends.

We walked around Broadway for a little while longer and then I had to get back to work. But I felt great. The Internet is fabulous, but nothing compares to meeting a such a great guy face to face. I want to get together for a longer period next time, either here or in Philly.

Like the old song says, we did it before and we can do it again.

Comments

Bijoux said…
I was hoping you'd do a post about this! How fun to see all of you together. Im happy it finally happened for you guys and I'm so glad Ron is a beacon for us all!
Rob K said…
This comment has been removed by the author.
Rob K said…
Hey, Bijoux!

I should've posted this sooner, but I wanted to let Ron have first crack at it.

However, since he's having connection issues, I thought I'd take a crack at it.

Ron surely is a beacon for us all. We should plan some massive bloggers meet-up so we can all see each other in the real world.
Ron said…
Hey Rob!!!!

Just wanted to stop by and let you know that my phone and Internet service have FINALLY been restored! It came back on earlier this evening.

Yahoooooooooooo!!!!!

It was so awesome reading this post, buddy. Thank you for your kind words. And as I shared with you in our emails, it was simply faaaaaabulous finally getting to meet you. And we have to do this again. Either you to Philly or me to NYC. I may be coming up again sometime in Sept or Oct for the Fall.

Thanks again for a super time, Rob!

Hope you're having a wonderful week!

I'll be posting about the NYC tomorrow!



Rob K said…
Hey, Ron, praise the Lord, you're back in business! The Internet has really missed you!

Great meeting, too, buddy, and I'm all in favor of doing it again!

I'm so looking forward to your post!
CrystalChick said…
Awesome, Rob! You got to hang out with Ron (I'm so jealous... we only live about 15 mins. from each other and have yet to meet!) and Val. Sounds like you had a good time...happy, smiling faces! I'm glad for you all.
Rob K said…
It was great, Crystal. We'll have to arrange a Philly-area summit. I can always jump on one of those buses down to your neck of the woods.

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