When Worlds Don't Collide, But Do Bump Into Each Other a Lot

[Peg Herring]

I live in northern Lower Michigan, which is a beautiful place. What we call traffic, most people would snicker at. The only time there are more than ten cars in town is from 3:30 to 4:00 pm when the school day ends. There is one stoplight...in the whole county.

Yesterday there were five elk in a small copse behind our house, so we went out to commune with them. (Actually we were hoping one would drop an antler where we could get to it before the little critters do, but it didn't happen.) Anyway, you get the idea: peace, quiet, long walks, not many people.

I live in some other worlds, too. There's the Traveling Talker World, where I'm the featured speaker and have to wear real shoes. There's the Family Problem Solver World, where I deal with a constant stream of doctor appointments and serve as a sort of concierge to make life tolerable for those who can't wait on themselves. And there's Social World, where I join others in various activities: music, philanthropy, and sometimes just lunch. Of course there's that In My Head World, where characters are continually talking to me, wanting to be memorialized on paper. Some of them even deserve it.

But one of my favorite places is Internet World. I connect with smart people from everywhere, exchanging ideas, methodologies, hints, and opinions. If they ask for something I don't want to give, there's the "delete" key. If they whine, I ignore them. But mostly they say (write) things that inspire, intrigue, or stimulate my brain, and that's something I can't get from elk or even from most people I actually know. It's a great thing, this Internet World, and the best thing of all may be that all the great people I meet here will never know if I'm wearing shoes or not.