webfriends

When I first started a blog, like—seven years ago?—it was suggested that you build readership by reading and commenting on other blogs. I did that for a while, and one woman started commenting on my blog as well, until it became a dialogue.
   Carly was a single mom who lived in the desert near Palm Springs, interested in writing and art, with a sly sense of humor. When I visited the area sometime later, we made plans to meet but didn't get it together. She stayed in my apartment in New York when I wasn't there for a week (people thought I was crazy). We finally met in New York and in Missouri, where she's from. I've met her brother and kid. She's married and had another baby. I keep up with the new baby on Facebook. This weekend she visited in person with her husband and brother.
    Go figure, an old-fashioned friendship from across a generation and a continent, connected by a medium that didn't exist a decade ago.
   Life is weird.