Bloggers meeting Bloggers

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5-10-15 lunch
I’d highly recommend meeting other bloggers if at all possible.
 
I often tell people that I have a voice and a face for writing.  With my Southern USA accent (y’all), denim cap and choice of clothing, if you met me on the street instead of in the blog-o-sphere your first thought might be, “does she have a high school education?”
 
Your second thought would, most likely, be, “Redneck.  She probably married her 1st cousin and had 10 illiterate babies.”
 
My viewpoints do, in fact, tend to be conservative.  When most people hear the “C” word they think, “Ultra-religious extremist.”
 
I believe in the constitution of the USA and in the individual’s right to be considered innocent until proven guilty.  I believe in the right to free speech, to be free of unlawful search and seizure, and the right to have weapons to fight against those who would take away your personal liberties as defined in the constitution. The only weapon I believe should be taken away from a person who abuses it is the automobile.  That weapon, wielded by every race, color, creed and sex,  has killed more people than all others.
 
I often wonder how one can believe that following the US constitution, the well-established law of my country, can be considered extremist.  But the thing that infuriates me the most is how the act of having a well-rounded respect for the rights of others can be so easily stuffed into the “anti-everything-intolerant-asshole” square on a virtual game of match-the-peg-to-the-pigeonhole.
 
This is a great place to bring up the point that I may be infuriated by what you think of me, but it is both my privilege and my duty to defend your right to think, and say, it.    Honor, kindness and love are core beliefs present in every race, color, creed or sex.  The clothing we wrap around it is immaterial.  We may call ourselves liberal or conservative, but how we express our beliefs span the bell curve between philosophical thinker and absolute asshole.
 
Being a blogger is like auditioning for a job as a musician for a major symphony orchestra where the people who want to hire you hear what you have to play before they see what’s behind the curtain.  Once you’ve had the opportunity sight unseen to get to know a person by the content of talent or character, it’s impossible to use the peripheral vision of a stereotype to define the individual.
 
You may wonder what I’m leading up to.
 
Here goes:
 
Horsewoman born in Florida who lived in Canada for 35 years
Vickie
and her friend (a woman who looks like a redneck and writes poetry)
gettingahead
meet a couple of fun and adventurous guys from the United Kingdom who have a cat blog (http://katzenworld.co.uk/)
 
5-12-15 lunch3
and have a great time at lunch for 2 1/2 hours.
 
I was impressed with the way Iain and Marc embraced learning about, and trying the foods of, other cultures. They didn’t complain about the lack of choices when the drink menu offered anything you wanted as long as it was water, tea and a few types of soda.  Not everyone is brave enough to eat cheese grits, collard greens, gator tail, and hush puppies at the same meal…
and like it all!
Thankfully, the best restaurant in town had the best cook on staff for mother’s day.
 
They loved the view, a wide bend of the St. Johns River in East Palatka, Florida, as we sat outside for lunch.  And not everyone would be so forgiving of a woman with 2 children who forgets it’s mother’s day and arranges to meet for lunch during one of the busiest times of the year for a restaurant.
 
But…we were at Corky Bell’s Restaurant from 2pm until around 4:30pm talking about cats, country, city, food, cellphones and blogging.
 
How many places in the world can you pose next to this sign?
DO NOT FEED THE ALLIGATORS

DO NOT FEED THE ALLIGATORS

Or pose next to the restaurants reptilian mascot?
5-10-15 lunch5
If I had to stuff these guys into any kind of pigeonhole, I’d look for one marked “courageous, kind, good company, and polite.”
 
The guys went back via Daytona (which Vickie and I suggested).  Marc wrote that they enjoyed seeing the honey stand (still using the honor system) we told them about and the countryside between East Palatka and Daytona.  Marc and Iain liked the real Florida (as opposed to the glitz and plastic of Dizzy World) and appreciated the view of the Sunshine State provided by 2 women who lived the country life.
 
Were they to visit the US again and weather the wilds of North Florida, we’d gladly have lunch with them for another 2 1/2 hours.
.
If we don’t show up at their doorstep first.
Category : food, LIfe, travel
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