There has been this weird dynamic from the beginning of electronic communication. The online persona vs. the one afoot in the real world. Last night we had planned a little outing to F8 gallery for a art gallery opening. (They always have some good stuff.) We figured we'd cop some of the free food and drink and then go to dinner somewhere. But then in the afternoon I decided to skim over some of the blogs and journals that I keep up with online and I realized that Jette was going to be at BookWoman for a reading/signing event for the book Do You Know What It Means to Miss New Orleans at 8PM. I told FFP that we'd have to go there after taking in the art gallery. We picked up SuRu and did just that with a stop at Wink Wine Bar for some tastes and to stuff our faces a bit more. F8 had a nice show with a mix of different painting styles and some wonderful photography. They also had some tasty treats from Portabla across the street and some wine.
The reading was short but interesting and we got a copy of the book. FFP picked up a couple of other books because that's what we do when we go to bookstores. (We went to three English language bookstores in Paris. And it would have been four but one was closed for the month of May.)
Jette and her boyfriend seemed glad to see us and one of my readers I'd never seen before came up and introduced herself. That is always a weird moment when you see the real person and shake her hand. You feel like you know the person better than you have a right to since she is, after all, a stranger.
I guess that disconnect has been around throughout history with penpals and arranged marriages and celebrity watching. But it is now a common thing. A dynamic where you keep your distance and then are suddenly together in, you know, real space and time. In our modern world, it happens all the time. So, yeah 'Annie in Austin' is now a real person to me. Although Annie isn't her real name. I think she told me what it was once, in an e-mail, but I forgot.
4 comments:
Jette's been on my favorites list since 2002 when her site turned up during a search for info on a closed art theater. Celluloid Eyes linked me to Ray & Toni's blogs, two wonderful writers. So Jette's call for her readers to come to BookWoman and 1) hear excerpts of "Do You Know What It Means To Miss New Orleans" spoken by the authors, 2) buy a copy from an independent bookseller and 3) have it signed in person, deserved no answer but 'yes'.
Linda, when you and FFP walked in it was such a surprise - and I'm sorry if this accidental meeting spoiled any mental picture you had. I was worried that if I tried to say hello to any of you, I'd get like Ralph Kramden on the quiz show - humina, humina, humina....
Annie (the electronic penpal?)
Annie -- well, what do you know! There we were and we just passed in the night! This is like "Sleepless in Seattle," huh?
Now I am wracked with trying to figure out who you were!
It's always a little weird for me to mix the public and electronic. Even though I've gotten to know Jette in film circles and by going to some journal folk meet-ups it's just weird to have the online vs. the real and I'm always a bit in awe of her. Jette's very cool and we were happy we made it to support her, the bookstore, etc. I was glad to meet you (and now FFP is jealous that he didn't meet you) and I'm glad you found your way to the my blog since I started babbling again. I would like to do a travelogue at my regular journal site but I'm pretty busy. It was good to meet you in person. (They have some cool music dos there at Bookwoman now and then and sometimes our good friend Nancy Scott shows up.)
All the best........LB
Forrest, it seemed like enough of an intrusion to approach Linda when you were speaking to your friends, but it would have been an honor to meet you.
I didn't take the name from Sleepless in Seattle, although I love that movie...Annie was my grandmother's name. She didn't need it anymore and I'm the grandmother now so I swiped it.
Annie [also in awe of Jette, and even more so since hearing her reading]
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