In a message dated 9/25/01 3:12:49 PM Eastern Daylight Time, wclark@xxxxxxx
writes:
<< However, I am concerned that people are jumping ship for no real reason. >>
I suspect this is just a sign of the times..emotions are in turmoil and
people are having a very hard time dealing with the upheaval that the WTC
incident has had and will have in our lives.When we cannot control upsetting
aspects of our lives we tend to lash out at petty things we feel we can
control...such as showing unreasonable anger because of some listings on a
mail list..I would expect to see this happen from time to time as we adjust
to some acute changes in our lives regarding safety and warring issues.
Tempers will calm and emotions will smooth and I'm sure we'll see many of
them return.
I have to disagree with those that tend to dismiss a group such as we as
being "only a list" and inconsequential in your life. Many of us have been
here for years and have come to know the recurring posters..we know their
senses of humor, we know their 'druthers concerning their OM equipment, we
know much about their attitudes in life and love because it has been
reflected in their prior posts. We also know their emotional fiber as we have
seen it illustrated when defending their choice of autos, political parties,
film, lenses, OM bodies, cases, filters, tripods, backpacks, belly bags, film
cannister uses, straps, flashes, strobes, umbrellas, national parks, vacation
routes, motocycles, sports cars, off-time hobbies, printers, inks, printing
papers, slide scanners, or WHATEVER. Each time you post to this list you
portray a bit about yourself to us all...and, believe it or not, it DOES form
a cohesive package and insight into your personality. While you may differ
somewhat physically from my mental perception of you, I daresay I have a far
bettter insight into your true character than one of your neighbors that
waves at you from across the yard or chitchats with you after church on
Sunday. What keeps you coming back to this list is NOT just a dry listing of
OM information...but instead it is the WAY it is personalized and tributized
by each and very one of us every time we take a piece of time from our lives
and give to this list by posting. So don't try to tell me that online
"friendships" are less 'worthy' than those you form in your everyday life,
for we all know that we have truly few true friends, but instead, many
acqaintances. By meeting online we have eliminated the superficial and the
physical, which allows us to see more clearly the intellect, the humor, and
the humanity. The way I see it, we've just been exposed to a tad more
"humanity" in the emotional outbursts of the last two weeks, and we'll all
adjust and flow until the emotions come back to normal.
That said, have any of you found that you have turned to your OM's more in
the last two weeks than normal (er.."before")? I think I've shot more rolls
of film in the last ten days than i have in the last year...I wonder now if
last week I was felling like I had to record my world as it was...before any
changes. Now I 've got 8 rolls of film to pay for!
Susan
Susan Steele
Virginia USA
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