I know you may also favor the chronology part of WPBT trip reports. I can't do chronology this year, as it's all swirling in my head and what is time anyway, in Vegas?
So I'm going to do it by segments of feeling and activity. Today's post contemplates the odd little virtual neighborhood we've created.
Falstaff and I had a great conversation at LaGasse's Sunday morning. It could have been because he's such a lovable guy. Or because he came to the event with some sort of bizarre Nacho Libre mask (maybe it was S&M). Or because he told me I have the softest lips ever (I do - you should try kissing them sometime). Or because he was totally hopped up on cold medicine. Or some combination thereof.
We were discussing how in the 50's, couples in the neighborhood got together all the time to socialize and play bridge and card games and such, drinking and smoking and whatever the Mad Men of that day did. He speculated that, in some ways, we were replicating that kind of environment, just having to do it in Vegas. Friends who show up each year (and randomly at smaller gatherings throughout the year) just for the sole purpose of socializing and playing a few cards together.
It got me thinking of our little (large) posse as kind of a virtual neighborhood. And leaving Las Vegas made me a little sad, because it is always like temporarily moving away from the neighborhood. You have to say your goodbyes, without the certainty that the next bridge or poker night is only a week away.
These are people that could easily be my real neighbors (like CA April, and Bayne and Betty). I could totally see leaving the kids for a night and gathering with the Falstaffs, and the Special K's, and the Otises, and the Drizzes, and the OhCaptains, and the Bloods, and the Katitudes, and the . . . you catch my drift . . . swigging back some drinks, trading stories and kisses, and throwing cards around the table. Hell, I could even see dragging the kids along to the Otises or the Drizzes or the OhCaptains. We could go to Falstaff's book nights, or watch Dr. K kick Special K's ass in the next run, or participate in OhCaptain's Bourbonator nights. And when I think about getting on the plane, knowing that it may likely be a year before I see them again . . . well, it makes me a little sad.
Every year I find I have new conversations with someone, even long time blogger friends, and it makes me happy to live in this virtual neighborhood.
- Special K and I had a long chat about our jobs, and motivation, the definition of success, and living with your life choices.
- Falstaff and I could have pondered the neighbor question a little longer except my kids decided to interrupt at that moment to discuss their progress in the latest video game.
- Betty lives less than 15 miles from me, but we still took a moment out of the hustle of Vegas to have a lovely dinner at Nob Hill while we discussed topics of mutual girl interest (mostly 'mens').
- Iggy and I had a conversation about whether it would be better to have a year or two off between high school and college where kids could learn real life skills like building houses and teaching and budgeting and stuff.
- Kat and I laid on my bed in the MGM (imagine away, people) discussing life choices and education and other weighty subjects while we digested our buffet breakfast.
- OhCaptain and I talked of loose plans to have a trip through America's heartland this summer to catch some Minnesota bloggers on the way to visit my parents
These are good people. Proud to have them in my virtual neighborhood; welcome in my real neighborhood any time.
When is our next block party? I'm already starting to get the itch . . .
Respectfully submitted,
The Wife
1 comment:
the time spent chatting on your bed is one of my best memories of this year's WPBT, and makes me resent the miles between us. It's too far, and we go too long between conversations.
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