Pensacola Beach Pier and Tsai-ko Musings

My Brother-in-law writes:
Hi y'all...Saturday visit to Pensacola Beach pier with the "grans"...for a traditional fish sandwich and onion rings and 95 cent draft beer...

Oh yeah, Lilu and folks have returned safely from Europe. Pix will be forthcoming soon!

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http://home.hawaii.rr.com/smurashi/tsai-kos/stevemuse.html

SteveM's Musing & Soliloquy Page

Bus Stop and the Blog

I've been meaning to write this for a while. It is too long for a blog post and best left inconspicuous. The need to move the blog readers temporarily in the wee hours of Friday July 18, 2008 brought this back to mind as I reflected upon the mass email list I had readily handy and the contacts I have made since my blog "Bus Stop" days in March 2007...

A background story first-- I think most us have gone through the "bus stop" before. Since I am a guy, I'll tell it from from a guy's point of view: I was young and unattached when I met her at the bus stop. Every work day, I would see her for a while we waited to transfer to our different buses in the morning. Sometimes we had 10 minutes to wait, sometimes only 3 minutes. We watched each other for a week and eventually started to speak to each other. She wasn't stunningly attractive but the more we talked I sensed she was a very nice person indeed.

One day, I worked up the courage and decided to ask her for a date. But when her bus arrived-- she wasn't on it. I never saw her again. Frantically I tried to find her to she if she was all right and would go out with me. Let's see... her name was Jill (no last name) and she lived in the Nuuanu area. She worked as a clerk in an office downtown on Bishop Street. Her boss was a grouch and she had a cat named "mango". Her father just bought a super size 25" TV set, her brother likes playing Atari games, and her mother's right knee bothers her. Yup--I knew alot about her, but I knew nothing to find her and hence lost something forever.

A few decades pass and now I'm reading a blog named "The Warrior Beat". It's been months and I start to speak to the interesting and remarkable people that I met there. It is fun, it is informative, and I never thought I'd be so drawn in and accepted by a bunch of faceless strangers...then, ST talked of the blog shutting down and I realized everyone was faceless ...and the memories of the bus stop come flooding back.

A lunch at Camellia? I'm going. What's your name? Can I have your email address? Here's my card...do you have one? Where do you work? Yeah--I still get teased about that today. But I got the info. Was I planning to see them again?... go to tailgates, football games, parties, and karaoke? No. Not at that time.

But if the blog died, at least I knew I could find them again...at least that was an available option now.

Then one day I posted my email address on the blog in the hopes of locating the mysterious Long Time UH Fan who had disappeared. Futility and another example of the Bus Stop. We eventually located LTUHF when he responded to my email address. Interestingly, I received other emails from bloggers saying "hi" and giving me their email address "just in case..."

Just in case of what? Then I realized we are all at the Bus Stop and they shared the same fear of losing unseen friends that I did. Some were hoping I would contact them if the blog stopped. Time passed and many Tsai-ko events expanded the group and web of contacts info. I created my website to post current info and showcase the Tsai-kos.

I believe the blog network has grown so much that if I sent word to the people who have shared their email addresses over the past year+ -- they in turn will forward the info to those who they know. Those who bookmark my web site will get the current info if I maintain it. We should be able to reach 80% of all bloggers and lurkers in 24 hours, with 95% total within 3 days.

I have seldom solicited email addresses... but I can understand the "Bus Stop" emotion and how those who might want email from me (during the change/crisis) might feel. So, if you want me to put your email address on file and in my "emergency" group email list, go ahead and send it to me. No explanation necessary.

stevem.hnl@gmail.com

But remember, with my web page and the Tsai-ko-managed blogs now, emails are less critical.

SteveM