tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4160223532207347025.post2086791995687212245..comments2024-02-28T23:35:56.193-05:00Comments on The Curious Reader: LOL, "Like" and IMHOGradhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17526750467742207099noreply@blogger.comBlogger13125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4160223532207347025.post-90205770291629126112013-06-07T09:25:57.432-04:002013-06-07T09:25:57.432-04:00Doctordi, you are such a good friend. I do realiz...Doctordi, you are such a good friend. I do realize that life has gotten very busy and we can get lazy about fostering our friendships...but we have let it get that way. Shortly after I was "de-friended" I happened upon a quote from Albert Einstein: "I fear the day that technology will surpass our human interaction. The world will have a generation of idiots." Pretty smart guy...with an adorably sexy moustache! Gradhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17526750467742207099noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4160223532207347025.post-7151512015651010892013-06-06T23:43:00.229-04:002013-06-06T23:43:00.229-04:00My darling Graddikins, this post makes me want to ...My darling Graddikins, this post makes me want to roar in your defence - I am so sorry. And letters are *not* dead, I refuse to let them die, although weirdly, especially in light of your post, the last handwritten letter I sent was to someone who stopped wanting to be my friend a long, long time ago...I truly don't know why I would waste my time and energy and lovely stationery on someone who patently doesn't care about me, but there you have it. Life is full of one-sided friendships and unresolved - in some cases unresolvable - hurt.<br /><br />Thank you for emailing me and shaking me out of my protracted silence. I hope you do write Pete a letter and that you consider forgiving my abandonment enough to pen me one too. <br /><br />I feel a bit sorry for your friend...I think - can only conclude - she is very sad and angry about something that I'm positive is, in truth, nothing to do with you. Gosh, imagine harbouring resentment about an unreceived gift for 43 years... It's astonishing. Who in the world doesn't laugh and say, 'Sweetie, you mean you bought me something at all and lugged it all the way home? Gift enough for anyone!' But to throw it out as ammunition now...like I said, there's something else going on there. It's so sad when a friendship ends in such a bewildering fashion. Perhaps she'll lick her wounds, things will improve and she'll realise she's behaved abominably. But perhaps she won't, so I think your attitude is the only sane path. Wish her well, let her go, carry on. Sending loads of love, Di xxxxAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4160223532207347025.post-49711898678960109992013-05-16T18:51:50.104-04:002013-05-16T18:51:50.104-04:00Oh, and Pete. I am sending you best wishes belated...Oh, and Pete. I am sending you best wishes belatedly for your birthday. I am following your reading challenge on Goodreads. I'm feeling a little pressured keeping up with my own challenge, but it's probably a good thing since it spurs me on. Gradhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17526750467742207099noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4160223532207347025.post-28799053365265986682013-05-16T18:48:30.081-04:002013-05-16T18:48:30.081-04:00Pete, I've owed you a letter for a very long t...Pete, I've owed you a letter for a very long time, and I will make that right. I would also love to have you catch me up on what little Leah is up to as she grows and learns. I'll be in touch soon.Gradhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17526750467742207099noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4160223532207347025.post-15666451134345853212013-05-16T15:57:07.108-04:002013-05-16T15:57:07.108-04:00Hi Grad, sorry to hear about the loss of such a lo...Hi Grad, sorry to hear about the loss of such a long-standing friendship. It does sound as though she got her priorities all wrong though. So what if you didn't comment on her FB page? But after the anger subsides, it's still sad when a friendship like that ends. On a positive note, I was very happy to see that you're thinking of sending me a letter. Always a treat to get a letter from you :-)Petehttp://couchtrip.wordpress.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4160223532207347025.post-65429541918927498702013-05-14T14:47:49.148-04:002013-05-14T14:47:49.148-04:00Stefanie, I'll take those hugs. I think a nic...Stefanie, I'll take those hugs. I think a nice weekend in the garden would also help raise my spirits. You and Bookman have inspired me. I would love another pen pal. Doctordi and Pete and I used to write, and I was planning on sending off a letter to Pete this week. I need to get Di's new address, though. Send me your address at grad_106@yahoo.com and I promise to write.Gradhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17526750467742207099noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4160223532207347025.post-42180835249096371972013-05-14T14:22:16.363-04:002013-05-14T14:22:16.363-04:00Oh Grad, I am so sorry. Friendship requires more t...Oh Grad, I am so sorry. Friendship requires more than FB comments and I don't think that is a dinosaur view. That this person had so much anger and resentment built up I can only believe it had something to do with her and nothing to do with you. Still, the lose is real and hurts and will take time to heal. Big hugs to you!<br /><br />P.S. I love writing letters so if you need some cheer in your mailbox, let me know! :)Stefaniehttp://somanybooksblog.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4160223532207347025.post-45275907239265856712013-05-14T09:50:57.510-04:002013-05-14T09:50:57.510-04:00Oh, Tinky, IMHO you are one of those gems I am luc...Oh, Tinky, IMHO you are one of those gems I am lucky to have unearthed on the vast Internet. And that is no LOL! This experience will, I hope, make me a better friend and better listener. Every once in a while we have to stop and re-assess what and who are really important. Tempus fugit!Gradhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17526750467742207099noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4160223532207347025.post-13653461053835914422013-05-14T09:33:42.267-04:002013-05-14T09:33:42.267-04:00Good grief. I mean, literally, good grief; your th...Good grief. I mean, literally, good grief; your thoughts about losing this alleged friend have made you (and me) think deeply about friendship, which is a terrific thing to do. I do know that there are people who are for some reason more comfortable with electronic communication; one of my dearest friends never responds to calls or letters but always does to emails. So I email her because I know she still loves me. But this person ... well, never mind, let's concentrate on more worthy people and things. Like your brother, who indeed sounds like a prince. Someday you'll come across those etched glasses in an unexpected corner of your house and LOL, my dear.Tinkyhttp://www.ourgrandmotherskitchens.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4160223532207347025.post-7944855951756188172013-05-14T07:34:33.118-04:002013-05-14T07:34:33.118-04:00Litlove, thank you so much. I don't even reco...Litlove, thank you so much. I don't even recognize the person my friend described as being me in her personal e-mails. But that doesn't bother me too badly since no one else would recognize that person as me either. I hope she is not as angry or unhappy a person as she seems and I wish her well. Thanks for reaching out a hand of friendship to me. You are a uniquely gifted person and I am always honored when you chose to visit my little corner of the stratsophere. Gradhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17526750467742207099noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4160223532207347025.post-90736863210879205522013-05-14T07:22:03.670-04:002013-05-14T07:22:03.670-04:00Grad, I'm having trouble commenting - will you...Grad, I'm having trouble commenting - will you look and see if my comment went into spam or just disappeared? Sending big hugs in the meantime!Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4160223532207347025.post-22061509432919656332013-05-14T07:20:45.143-04:002013-05-14T07:20:45.143-04:00Oh Grad, the comment I'd like to leave here ab...Oh Grad, the comment I'd like to leave here about your 'friend' contains all sorts of words that I don't think I should type out! How upsetting this sort of thing is, how derailing to our sense of dealing correctly with the world and belonging to little pockets of it. I can't believe that anyone would disagree that real friendship requires time, patience, tolerance and effort. Love is as love does. And I don't think that will ever change. I see my son keeping in touch with people via facebook every day, but his close friends are those he spends time with. I'm so sorry, but at the end of the day, you wouldn't want to surround yourself with false friends anyway. It's her loss, not yours. Sending big hugs.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4160223532207347025.post-80313783560485689402013-05-13T23:31:35.142-04:002013-05-13T23:31:35.142-04:00Although I did not give her name, and no one who r...Although I did not give her name, and no one who reads The Curious Reader would know who she is, this post ended my 45 year friendship. I have been "de-friended", if that is the term. I think what I've learned by some of her private e-mails sent as a result of this post that, although we were purported to be "best friends" for 45 years, as it turns out she really didn't like me very much. She didn't like my beliefs, my opinions, my ideas, my politics (or apparently, my writing.) I remember, very long ago, she thought I was very brave in that I would always stand up for what I believed. Even if it meant standing up to a professor. That has now become one of my many faults. People do not sever strong relationships over a failure to send stemware or over how many times one gets a comment on ones FB page. Which leads me to the only conclusion a reasonable person can make. It doesn't make me happy, I will admit. I'll go even further. It makes me quite sad. But looking at the larger picture, one can't lose for a second time something that was lost long ago.Gradhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17526750467742207099noreply@blogger.com