Gary, That was a great story. I'll bet it reflects the experience of a lot of others. I've met other list members at nearly every out of town regatta I've attended. It's always great to put a face with a name.
Thanks for sharing, Damon Linkous Hobie 18 Magnum Memphis Tennessee damon(at)TheBeachcats(dot)com http://www.TheBeachcats.com ----- Original Message ----- From: "hobiegary" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> To: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Sent: Sunday, November 07, 2004 3:08 AM Subject: [beachcats] Meeting an internet friend > > > Not being involved in the Hobie racing "way of life" and having a > history of having to struggle to find crew, I have always been more > used to cat-sailing alone than sailing in regattas with all the > attached benefits. Having been somewhat of a loner, when it comes > to cat-sailing, I have been introduced to many more good catamaran > sailing friends on the internet than I have met on the water. > > This brings an anecdote to mind that I want to share with you, my > internet cat sailing pals. > > When this internet list was much younger and smaller, I was lurking > in it. When I finally stepped forward and became a regular posting > member, I opted to capitalize my first name as my distinct > signature. I had noticed that there were other Gary's aboard. > > Southern California's heavy highway traffic often makes the two > Southern California Coastal cities of San Diego and Los Angeles just > as far apart as Los Angeles, CA and Las Vegas, Nevada. While I was > familiar with who Alan Thompson was ( http://www.whitecaps.net/ ), > I had never actually met him until I finally decided to sail my boat > to Catalina Island. > > That is where I met Alan for the first time. I sailed there and he > arrived the next day on the ferry, with his toddler daughter in > tow. He came to spend time with his cat-sailing pals, even though > he opted for a safer way to bring his young daughter over to meet > with us. > > I arrived the day before Alan did and the next morning I came > stumbling into town, from the campground over a half mile away, > toward the breakfast grill. As I passed by the outdoor snack bar, > Buzz was sitting there chatting with some of the catsailors in our > fleet. He called me over and I detoured over to say good morning. > > That's when I met Alan. Buzz said, "Gary, this is Alan Thompson." > Alan shouted, "Gary." And I said, "Well hello Alan, it's nice to > meet you." Then Alan said, "It's nice to meet you (shouting loudly) > GARY!" I sort of cocked my head and wondered why he was shouting > during part of the sentence. Then he said, "I'm finally meeting > GARY (shouting my name again). Nice to meet you GARY!" (shouting my > name, only) It was just about then that he finally made me realize > that he was saying my name the way he had always read it on the > internet. Of course! Capitalizing a word on the internet is > considered to be shouting; it finally sunk in and gave me a good > laugh. > > Today I will sail with Buzz, Alan, Chris, and John, all sailors who > I have met through this list. > > Gary Friesen "GARY" > > > > > > > > > Group Home > http://www.TheBeachcats.com > > > Yahoo! Groups Links > > > > > > > Group Home http://www.TheBeachcats.com Yahoo! Groups Links <*> To visit your group on the web, go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/beachcats/ <*> To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] <*> Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to: http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/
