Okay, so I write this blog knowing full well that only a handful of people may read it on any given day. Some days, that may be a midget-sized handful.But that's okay, because the whole point of writing it was to force myself to write more frequently and reliably. No more of this write a book and then not do anything with it for over a year. Of course, the fact that I spend time writing this blog means that I don't have time to rework my manuscript, but that's something I hadn't really taken into account before. Oh, you vengeful irony!
Anyway, even though I sincerely believe that I personally know and bully every one of my blog readers into being my blog readers, I can accept the possibility that's not true. I may have an "avid reader" or—dare I say it?—a "fanatic" that I've never met. (I know we've never met in person, Andy, but we've chatted enough that you don't count as a stranger anymore;) Or, what if a ghost from my past read a blog in which he featured prominently?
Well, over the weekend, I got a comment on my blog about my Middle School Crush. Supposedly from said crush. What are the chances?
I'm thinking STN (slim to none). Especially based on today's comment from "B" that asked—in Latin, no less—"Cat got your tongue?"
That's not like Brian at all. Or rather, that's not like the 12-yr-old Brian of my middle school fantasies. The most I ever got from him was a mumbled "hi" or reluctant nod of acknowledgment. Not that I blame him, since it was probably a little disconcerting to find a giggly girl with frizzy hair staring at you every time you turned around.
And I suppose, in the 15 intervening years, he may have changed a little. Become a little more verbose, a little less frightened by me since I'm a happily married woman. But I doubt that's it.
I may be especially paranoid because Keith just told me about a USC basketball player getting virtually punked by the UCLA student section. But in general if I catch the slightest whiff of a fake persona on the web, I assume it's true. The fakeness, I mean. What I'm saying is, I think this Brian is a fake. And if you're trying to convince me otherwise, you'll have to do better than that! (Good luck impersonating a close-lipped adolescent online.)
7 comments:
Your instincts are admirable, Megan, and I had every intention of revealing the truth with your first response. Out of curiosity, I had searched my name in the blogosphere with Technorati as one does with Google and found your blog and your Middle School Crush. As a blue-eyed, scratch golfer with a large personal library of mostly non-fiction and a special interest in language, there was an interesting resonance. That is my real name but I hope your storied Brian finds your blog and rues his youthful unresponsiveness. Incidentally, I found your Trusty Mortgage Guide very interesting and helpful. Finally, 'gapesnest' as wonderment has an intriguing piquancy, but perhaps the historical citations weren't convincing enough for James Murray to put it into the OED (nor did it make it into Webster's New International). And so I fade into the ether. Brian
I must say, you're much more eloquent than my Brian Maguire ever was! Your first comment definitely had me going, but once you threw in the Latin, while impressive, the jig was up.
Thanks for spicing up my blog for a few days. I'm glad that the Mortgage guide was helpful. I also did one on Retirement that I'm quite proud of, if I do say so myself.
Please feel free to pop in from time to time!
Megan: I actually had mixed feelings about doing what I did, however innocent, because it was obvious that you had a special, tender memory of that time and I didn't want to disturb it in any way.
As Yeats wrote in "He wishes for the Cloths of Heaven": But I, being poor, have only my dreams; I have spread my dreams under your feet; Tread softly because you tread on my dreams.
Brian
Well, you can always look into turning your blog into a book....
http://www.lifehacker.com/software/self-publishing/turn-your-blog-into-a-book-157922.php
How intriguing--your blog had a little "slim shady" thing going on.
There goes my theory that hubby was messing with you in a "how dare you write a series of entries about men who aren't me" way. ;)
Actually, I thought it quite possible that the real Brian M. found out about it through a friend-of-a-friend with whom you were still in touch. Then again, I don't know middle school Brian M., nor your middle school social set, so I'm not as savvy to that whole situation. Oh well. "Shady" Brian M., you had me going.
Yay, I'm not a stranger anymore!
I am curious though, where do you get your pictures? Also, has that guide on scrapbooking posted yet? I couldn't seem to find it.
Hey, Andy!
Unless otherwise noted (like the Getty Images credit on Keira's pic), I get nearly all my images from Word. I figure I'm not using them for financial gain and if they're in Word they are pretty much copyright free.
I don't know what the deal is with the Scrapbooking guide. I think it might have something to do with getting permission to use page layouts from another site. When I see that it's up, I'll try to remember to mention it on the blog.
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