I moved around a lot as a kid and young adult. Due to that, combined with my incredible shyness until I was well past adulthood, I don't have any friends in my life now from before I was 30.
Then, in 2003, I was forced by personal circumstance (joblessness, health issues) and family need (aging parents) to move to Oklahoma, where I didn't know anyone besides my family.
Let me just interject here, for emphasis, that I -- one of those apparently rare people who started out extremely liberal and has gotten further Left with each passing year -- never in a million years expected to be living in Oklahoma, much less make it my (probably) permanent home. Life brings some damn strange twists of fate.
I know for a fact that, if my move to Oklahoma had not coincided with the birth of the netroots, I would be in a padded room right now.
So, when "Auld Acquaintance" plays, I don't have much context to build up any tears for old friends of days gone by.
But start talking about " Virtual Community," and, honey, on a night like tonight, the tears will start to flow.
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