Stories of life 04/21/23
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Gopher is  interesting, like  so many other  public or  semi-public or
seemingly-public spaces.  People write about whatever  they want. Some
choose technical  topics, others political.  It makes sense,  and it's
wild-westish, and I like it. I  really enjoy the stories I find, about
the lives people live.

Perhaps  there  are  better  places  to find  such  stories,  like  in
biographies or on the www. But gopher  is more fun than both. And more
chaotic, perhaps  more real,  perhaps not.  The text,  terminal, campy
line breaking, all make it better.

Real-life interactions are better, most  of the time. Honestly though,
some of the best Stories of Life  that I encounter are from old people
that no one is listening to.  Circumstances have connected me with old
people (and I  call them old people  with all the love  and respect my
soul is capable, honestly) from an early age. A family friend's mother
was in a  rest home (as they  called them back then),  and he couldn't
visit her  regularly, so  my mom  went, and she  dragged me  along. My
grandmother lived with  us for most of  my youth. And then  when I was
around 30, I was thrust into  associations with much older people, men
in particular.

It was around  that time, in my  early 30's, that I  really started to
appreciate the old people in my life  a lot more. And to recognize how
amazing and valuable  their stories were. That was about  15 years ago
or so, if anyone is counting.

But, I really  wanted to talk about  Gopher, and what it  means for me
personally. I like to share stories. Not because I think anyone has or
should have  any great interest in  them, but because in  telling them
they come alive in my mind again. And that's a pleasant feeling. Well,
most of the time. And even when it's not pleasant, it's useful.

So, there you have it. My little  story about why I like to share life
stories on Gopher. Even mundane daily activities are stories, for what
they're worth. Perhaps  they'll never appeal to the  people who prefer
to post about  programming, but maybe they will. After  all, I like to
read about programming, and I can't stand living in my stories all the
time, so perhaps other people like the variety as well? Ultimately, it
just doesn't matter,  because we write on gopher not to please others,
but for the pleasure of writing.

Oh, it  feels good to  stretch my neck. Off-topic,  I know. I'm  in an
early meeting  where I  am not really  a part of  the meeting,  and my
thoughts are tired.  While I'm off topic, here's one  more story as to
why I'm tired. I have two  friends who are, in essence, prisoners. One
is out  on bail, the  other is on  house arrest. Everyone  should have
such people in the mix of their friendships. Yesterday I went to visit
one of those friends, and stayed too  long. Still had to get up at the
same time this morning. But visiting  those in prison (even if they're
not locked up inside  an actual prison currently or yet)  is an act of
human kindness.  Because prisoners are  humans. Shocking, I  know, and
maybe some of you think I'm stupid for saying it. It's obvious, right?
But  we  dehumanize at  the  drop  of a  hat  in  the modern  age.  We
shouldn't. I was glad to visit him, give him a hug, play a board game,
and do what little I could to lift him up for a bit.

Man, I'm  bad at ending  gopher posts.  Plus, this meeting  isn't over
yet, and if I  let this post go, what will I have?  I'll have to focus
my energy on looking interested, or  on not falling asleep. But, I can
only impose  on you  for so long.  And so, I'll  say goodbye  for now.
Thanks for being a part of my story, gopher.