In February 2005, nearly 15 years ago, my ex-husband introduced me to a political forum that he'd been part of for a few years already. Most of the folks on the forum had met on a gaming group and moved to this forum in order to better discuss world politics, the news, and whatever else sounded interesting that wasn't particular to the game. They live all over the world and have a myriad of different jobs, so it has made for some interesting perspectives in the geopolitical arena.
Over the years, as the internet has changed and social media platforms have taken over most forum boards, our group has dwindled down from the 500-plus posters we had to a core group of about 50 of us. I am the soul remaining regular female poster. Many of these men I consider very good friends, or as I've told them, like brothers. You spend 15 years sharing your life stories and hearing theirs, it's hard to imagine life without them.
You've heard me mention several friends I've met on this trip: Isaac, Tracy, and Brian. Isaac and Brian are from that forum group. (Tracy is a good friend from Portland.) The day that Brian and I left Edinburgh, we traveled down to Preston to meet another friend from the forum, Pete.
The train ride was uneventful, and I slept on Brian's shoulder most of the trip. (Okay, arm. He's a very tall man, and on my best days I wouldn't be able to reach his shoulder.) I felt like I was coming down with a cold and he graciously let me try to sleep it off.
Meanwhile, Brian and Sarah, Pete's bride of 32 years, were working out arrangements to meet up. Pete, apparently, remains a Luddite and refuses to use a Smart Phone or text. Thank the heavens for his wife!
When we arrived in Preston, Pete, Sarah, and their 17-year-old son Teddy met us at the station. They walked us to our hotel, waited while we checked in, and then brought us to a lovely pub for a drink.
The pub was built sometime in the 17th century, I believe, and Sarah made it a point to take me to see the well in the center of the floor in the basement. Well lit, the deep stone walls and clear water at the bottom were easy to see under a very thick clear cover that we could walk on. Sarah stepped on the cover and jumped a little to show me it was safe, but I stayed to the outside. Six inches of plexiglass may have protected me from those depths, but I'm not the girl to take that chance. (No pictures, I'm afraid, as the pub was packed and I felt touristy enough.)
We relaxed, chatted, and swapped stories of our lives over drinks. Then Sarah and a very patient Teddy headed off to see visiting family while Pete, Brian, and I found food. We walked a good half mile to this little vegetarian Indian sweets shop that also served food. (Not kidding; that's how it's billed and how it presents itself.) The food was cheap, filling, and tasty, though a little too spicy for Brian's palate. It also tasted nothing like the Indian food I've had in the states, which I found interesting given it was owned and operated by an Indian family.
From food to another pub, where a young man at the table next to us was explaining to his mates that the entire middle of the US had nothing. Nothing at all, you see. I glanced over and raised an eyebrow. One of his mates caught my eye and started laughing, which made the young man turn to look st me.
"Yeah?"
"Careful there, friend. That's my home you're talking about."
His mates start laughing at him and telling him to watch it. He doubles down. "No, but for real. Tell them. There really isn't anything in the whole middle part of the country."
"I disagree. I'd argue that corn and soybeans count as something. And there's a whole lot of that there. " I grinned and took a drink while he said, "See! I told ya'!"
We then started talking about how big the US is compared to the UK, and why what he was saying really was impressive. In short, the area he was talking about as having "nothing" was three times larger than the whole of the UK. That nugget of information actually impressed his mates. The young man asked us how many time zones the US had, and Brian and I had to define what he meant by that. Are we including Alaska and Hawaii? Does that make it five or six? Silence from the table as they stared at us.
Pete has driven a huge part of our country on two different road trips with another friend from the forum, Josh. They'd done a grand tour of the east coast, the south, and ended up in Chicago. Josh is American (as much as an Alaskan can be, anyway *wink*) and he'd taken Pete around on a misadventure to meet a bunch of guys from the forum. They had a blast, and Pete still tells the stories with fondness. They took a second trip up the western shoreline from San Diego to Seattle, but Pete wasn't as impressed. He said the PNW was effectively England, so it wasn't as interesting. (He's not wrong.)
After a couple of beers at that pub, we wandered off to one more. This is apparently a European thing, by the way. One avoids getting drunk by never settling in at any one place. You have a drink, maybe two, then pack up and move on. Isaac introduced me to this on my birthday, and I think it's brilliant. Hard to get too drunk if you know you have to walk after a pint. The downside of this is that I left my new scarf I'd bought in Barcelona at one of the several places we visited, and by the time I realized it, I was too tired to try to find it.
So one last pub, one last drink, and Pete walked us to our hotel, gave hugs and handshakes around, then toddled off home. Brian and I had an early train to London, and this was easily the latest we'd stayed up yet. It was, afterall, 11pm, and we aren't so young anymore.
Over the years, as the internet has changed and social media platforms have taken over most forum boards, our group has dwindled down from the 500-plus posters we had to a core group of about 50 of us. I am the soul remaining regular female poster. Many of these men I consider very good friends, or as I've told them, like brothers. You spend 15 years sharing your life stories and hearing theirs, it's hard to imagine life without them.
You've heard me mention several friends I've met on this trip: Isaac, Tracy, and Brian. Isaac and Brian are from that forum group. (Tracy is a good friend from Portland.) The day that Brian and I left Edinburgh, we traveled down to Preston to meet another friend from the forum, Pete.
The train ride was uneventful, and I slept on Brian's shoulder most of the trip. (Okay, arm. He's a very tall man, and on my best days I wouldn't be able to reach his shoulder.) I felt like I was coming down with a cold and he graciously let me try to sleep it off.
Meanwhile, Brian and Sarah, Pete's bride of 32 years, were working out arrangements to meet up. Pete, apparently, remains a Luddite and refuses to use a Smart Phone or text. Thank the heavens for his wife!
When we arrived in Preston, Pete, Sarah, and their 17-year-old son Teddy met us at the station. They walked us to our hotel, waited while we checked in, and then brought us to a lovely pub for a drink.
The pub was built sometime in the 17th century, I believe, and Sarah made it a point to take me to see the well in the center of the floor in the basement. Well lit, the deep stone walls and clear water at the bottom were easy to see under a very thick clear cover that we could walk on. Sarah stepped on the cover and jumped a little to show me it was safe, but I stayed to the outside. Six inches of plexiglass may have protected me from those depths, but I'm not the girl to take that chance. (No pictures, I'm afraid, as the pub was packed and I felt touristy enough.)
We relaxed, chatted, and swapped stories of our lives over drinks. Then Sarah and a very patient Teddy headed off to see visiting family while Pete, Brian, and I found food. We walked a good half mile to this little vegetarian Indian sweets shop that also served food. (Not kidding; that's how it's billed and how it presents itself.) The food was cheap, filling, and tasty, though a little too spicy for Brian's palate. It also tasted nothing like the Indian food I've had in the states, which I found interesting given it was owned and operated by an Indian family.
From food to another pub, where a young man at the table next to us was explaining to his mates that the entire middle of the US had nothing. Nothing at all, you see. I glanced over and raised an eyebrow. One of his mates caught my eye and started laughing, which made the young man turn to look st me.
"Yeah?"
"Careful there, friend. That's my home you're talking about."
His mates start laughing at him and telling him to watch it. He doubles down. "No, but for real. Tell them. There really isn't anything in the whole middle part of the country."
"I disagree. I'd argue that corn and soybeans count as something. And there's a whole lot of that there. " I grinned and took a drink while he said, "See! I told ya'!"
We then started talking about how big the US is compared to the UK, and why what he was saying really was impressive. In short, the area he was talking about as having "nothing" was three times larger than the whole of the UK. That nugget of information actually impressed his mates. The young man asked us how many time zones the US had, and Brian and I had to define what he meant by that. Are we including Alaska and Hawaii? Does that make it five or six? Silence from the table as they stared at us.
Pete has driven a huge part of our country on two different road trips with another friend from the forum, Josh. They'd done a grand tour of the east coast, the south, and ended up in Chicago. Josh is American (as much as an Alaskan can be, anyway *wink*) and he'd taken Pete around on a misadventure to meet a bunch of guys from the forum. They had a blast, and Pete still tells the stories with fondness. They took a second trip up the western shoreline from San Diego to Seattle, but Pete wasn't as impressed. He said the PNW was effectively England, so it wasn't as interesting. (He's not wrong.)
After a couple of beers at that pub, we wandered off to one more. This is apparently a European thing, by the way. One avoids getting drunk by never settling in at any one place. You have a drink, maybe two, then pack up and move on. Isaac introduced me to this on my birthday, and I think it's brilliant. Hard to get too drunk if you know you have to walk after a pint. The downside of this is that I left my new scarf I'd bought in Barcelona at one of the several places we visited, and by the time I realized it, I was too tired to try to find it.
So one last pub, one last drink, and Pete walked us to our hotel, gave hugs and handshakes around, then toddled off home. Brian and I had an early train to London, and this was easily the latest we'd stayed up yet. It was, afterall, 11pm, and we aren't so young anymore.
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