Stories of life 04/21/23
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Gopher is interesting, like so many other public or semi-public or
seemingly-public spaces. People write about whatever they want. Some
choose technical topics, others political. It makes sense, and it's
wild-westish, and I like it. I really enjoy the stories I find, about
the lives people live.
Perhaps there are better places to find such stories, like in
biographies or on the www. But gopher is more fun than both. And more
chaotic, perhaps more real, perhaps not. The text, terminal, campy
line breaking, all make it better.
Real-life interactions are better, most of the time. Honestly though,
some of the best Stories of Life that I encounter are from old people
that no one is listening to. Circumstances have connected me with old
people (and I call them old people with all the love and respect my
soul is capable, honestly) from an early age. A family friend's mother
was in a rest home (as they called them back then), and he couldn't
visit her regularly, so my mom went, and she dragged me along. My
grandmother lived with us for most of my youth. And then when I was
around 30, I was thrust into associations with much older people, men
in particular.
It was around that time, in my early 30's, that I really started to
appreciate the old people in my life a lot more. And to recognize how
amazing and valuable their stories were. That was about 15 years ago
or so, if anyone is counting.
But, I really wanted to talk about Gopher, and what it means for me
personally. I like to share stories. Not because I think anyone has or
should have any great interest in them, but because in telling them
they come alive in my mind again. And that's a pleasant feeling. Well,
most of the time. And even when it's not pleasant, it's useful.
So, there you have it. My little story about why I like to share life
stories on Gopher. Even mundane daily activities are stories, for what
they're worth. Perhaps they'll never appeal to the people who prefer
to post about programming, but maybe they will. After all, I like to
read about programming, and I can't stand living in my stories all the
time, so perhaps other people like the variety as well? Ultimately, it
just doesn't matter, because we write on gopher not to please others,
but for the pleasure of writing.
Oh, it feels good to stretch my neck. Off-topic, I know. I'm in an
early meeting where I am not really a part of the meeting, and my
thoughts are tired. While I'm off topic, here's one more story as to
why I'm tired. I have two friends who are, in essence, prisoners. One
is out on bail, the other is on house arrest. Everyone should have
such people in the mix of their friendships. Yesterday I went to visit
one of those friends, and stayed too long. Still had to get up at the
same time this morning. But visiting those in prison (even if they're
not locked up inside an actual prison currently or yet) is an act of
human kindness. Because prisoners are humans. Shocking, I know, and
maybe some of you think I'm stupid for saying it. It's obvious, right?
But we dehumanize at the drop of a hat in the modern age. We
shouldn't. I was glad to visit him, give him a hug, play a board game,
and do what little I could to lift him up for a bit.
Man, I'm bad at ending gopher posts. Plus, this meeting isn't over
yet, and if I let this post go, what will I have? I'll have to focus
my energy on looking interested, or on not falling asleep. But, I can
only impose on you for so long. And so, I'll say goodbye for now.
Thanks for being a part of my story, gopher.
