Karen

I have been a blogger since 2006, and have been a member of several online communities since before then. I participate in many forums, about many different topics, and have become online “friends” with a lot of folks from different parts of the country and the world. In many cases, I have met up with bloggers or forum members in the real world. Now, I have to admit, that most of the people I have met in real life so far have been full time RV’ers, people who like myself and my husband, live in RV’s and travel around the country. A lot of the time, if we didn’t have our online “friends” we wouldn’t “talk” to anyone other than our spouse for days at a time.

But what about when the online community you belong to includes young moms–people who have the lives of their children to think about before they venture out to meet you in person–that previously anonymous face in the forum?  Do you go out and meet someone in public, that you only know online, when you have your children with you? Today I had arranged to meet one of my forum buddies, a young woman in Mississippi who is a member of the same bloggers club I belong to. In this club, we exchange information on how to make money with our blogs.

I have referred her to reps for review opportunities, and sent her information to agents who wish to purchase advertising on blogs. She has done the same thing for me, and in fact, she has helped me learn so much about how to monetize and get my blog information out there, that I wanted to meet her and take her to dinner. The problem was that her husband was out of town, and he did not feel comfortable having her meet a perfect stranger off the internet when she was alone with her two kids.

At first, I was crushed, and felt like crying. I felt like I had been accused of being an ax murderer, or something like it. Then I thought, “That guy just loves his family.” After all, all she can tell him about me is that I live in a travel trailer, and I travel around like a gypsy, with no set place to live. He probably thinks I am a nut–a lot of people who aren’t familiar with this lifestyle think that.  And then I thought, just the fact that she acted upon her husband’s wishes, and told me she couldn’t meet me, told me quite a bit about this young woman’s character.  It told me that she values her husband’s opinion, and that she chooses to act accordingly. That she cares about her family and her children. And that even though it meant having to tell me that she wouldn’t be able to meet me right now, that she still cares about our relationship, too.

I think we ARE a community, online as bloggers and forum members. It’s just a different kind of community. You can be the most honest, upstanding person in the world, or you can be that ax murderer and just SAY you’re honest and upstanding in order to meet your next victim. I get it. I understand that there is the fear out there. And that is something that has existed since online interaction began. I just wish it wasn’t so. I think I missed meeting a very nice person today.  I told her: I’m not a baby stealer. They start out smelling good, but eventually they start to stink, and then they turn into teenagers, and I certainly want no part of that!

So, tell me: Have you met any of  your online friends in person? If so, were they what you expected them to be? Would you have agreed to meet them if you had young children with you? Do you think we should all be afraid of reaching out and meeting in person?

Sunday morning we got up and drove over to Cracker Barrell for breakfast, and planned out the rest of the day. While we were sitting there, we got a text message from our friend, Terry, who worked with Fabgrandpa at the North Rim for three and a half seasons. She left in June to go to the Great Smoky Mountains National Park, where her husband, Rob, was working. We have missed her this summer, and were pleasantly surprised that she and Rob had decided to come to Memphis to meet up with us.

It is always so much more fun when you are with friends, and knowing they would drive 350 miles to see us, well, that just made me cry. We had sooo much fun down on Beale Street.

 

 

 

 

 

 

This RV Minute is a video of a really cute older couple boogie-ing down to the music at BB King’s House of Blues. They got a round of applause when they left the dance floor!

As we entered into Arkansas shortly after breakfast, we saw a travel trailer in front of us blow a tire–this one flung bits and pieces of the trailer in a trail behind it. It looked like fiberglass insulation, floorboards, pieces of the blown tire, you name it. Quick and expert driving on the part of Fabgrandpa saved us from driving through the treacherous debris! Whew! What an obstacle course out there! I’m just glad it didn’t happen in a place where they had us on one lane for construction.

Lunch time found us in Little Rock, so we stopped at the Cracker Barrell. They had those delicious lima beans cooked with ham as the vegetable of the day. OMG–I have missed southern cooking so much! You can’t even find some things in the grocery stores in Utah and Arizona to cook at home.

We saw the smoke from lots of fires where the farmers were burning off their fields in eastern Arkansas. I saw cotton, wheat, and soybean fields along the highway.

The rest stops are getting prettier the further east we go. These looked like cypress trees, but I’m not sure if they are because I thought cypress grew in swampland.

Those terrible roads in Oklahoma yesterday, and a 30 mile stretch in Arkansas today shook something loose under the truck. There’s a rattle there that wasn’t there before. We’ll have to get it checked out as soon as we get to Georgia.

We absolutely love Tom Sawyer RV Park in West Memphis. It is right on the banks of the mighty Mississippi River. The sites are long long pull through sites that are so level you can’t believe it. Most of them have concrete pads, but I forgot to make a reservation until yesterday so we got a gravel one. It’s still nice though. We’ll be here for three nights so we can go down to Beale Street in Memphis and have a little fun!

This may look like a dump, but you are cheating yourself out of the best barbecue ribs ever if you let appearance be the judge. Go in there if you are ever in West Memphis–you will not regret it.

Ever seen a neon catfish? There’s one on the entrance sign to Tom Sawyer RV Park in West Memphis. You have to drive over the levy to get there.

What a way to end the day! Sunset over the Mississippi River, right out the back door! A cool breeze, moon shining down, and the water rolling down to the bay…

And this is for my friend, Gaelyn, also known as Geogypsy, also known as the maker of buttermilk pie:

And “Yes” I did eat it, and “Yes” I will deal with the repercussions from that. It was delicious, by the way.

 

 

 

The folks over at Blogher Life Well Lived asked me this question:

How do you incorporate fashion trends without looking like a teenage girl?

When I am working, I have to wear a uniform. That uniform is the same for both males and females and includes a work boots and a hat. So, when I am not working, I want to look like feminine but not too girlie. I want to look my age, not like a teenager or like an old frump. It is  hard sometimes to do, when I have limited wardrobe space and have to make every piece of clothing coordinate. I bought this dressy blouse last winter–I was pleasantly surprised by the attention it got from my husband! And while it looks good with a pair of dressy slacks, it also goes well with jeans. It is “young” looking to me, but certainly doesn’t make me look like I’m trying to dress too young.

I wear a jeans a lot of the time, but I do like to wear dressy pants and skirts every now and then. I have a couple of pairs of black slacks, and a black skirt. I have one dressy sweater for winter that is pink with sequins on it. And two dressy summer blouses. I dress things up with a gold chain necklace, or a “floating” rhinestone necklace. Last winter I bought a pair of red sandals that pass for my “dressy” shoes. A pair of beige sandals and a pair of moss green suede loafers round out my shoe collection.

One secret I have is that when I find those cute tops, the ones the teens like to wear like a second skin, I buy them a size or two bigger so that they still look good on me without being too tight. Oh, and my confession: I love to wear headbands and barrettes that have rhinestones on them. I even own a tiara. I wear it every once in a while when I do my grocery shopping, just like I’m the queen of the grocery store.

So, how do you incorporate fashion trends without looking like a teenage girl?  Post your answer on the Life Well Lived post at Blogher, and you could win the Life Well Lived $250 Sweepstakes! The BlogHer Life Well Lived Moments sweepstakes runs from October 13, 2011 to November 16, 2011 and is only open to individuals who, at the time of entry deadline, are legal residents of the United States and are 18 years or older. Winners will be randomly selected from all eligible entries. Click here for official rules. Good luck!