TZUTC: -0500   
   MSGID: 850.canada@1:2320/105 2d182fa4   
   REPLY: 837.canada@1:2320/105 2d15adea   
   PID: Synchronet 3.21a-Linux master/123f2d28a Jul 12 2025 GCC 12.2.0   
   TID: SBBSecho 3.28-Linux master/123f2d28a Jul 12 2025 GCC 12.2.0   
   BBSID: CAPCITY2   
   CHRS: ASCII 1   
   FORMAT: flowed   
   RM>> It's quite a while since I've done much more than Lurk on the   
     >> BBS system but this past year a lady friend I've exchanged Long   
     >> eMails with for decades has had some health issues and that has   
     >> ended so I find myself with more time and fewer people to discuss   
     >> current events and interests with..   
      
   MP>Sorry to hear about your friend's health issues.  I used to have a couple   
     >of long-distance email "pen pals" but we'd always seem to eventually run   
     >out of things to talk about.  Keeping such a thing going takes some   
     >dedication.   
      
   Yes, as we get older we lose old friends in many ways. In this case   
   it is sadly Alzheimer's, which is a cruel desease, although often   
   worse for the family and friends than the person afflicted since   
   they forget their past where the people left feel the pain of that   
   loss. I went through something similar with my father before he   
   passed (similar symptoms but not Alzheimer's), but at least he was   
   pretty good until the last 3 years of his life before passing at 90.   
      
   But this lady, who I never met in person, has been exchanging BBS   
   and later eMail messages with me since about 1993 and it sort of   
   feels like losing a member of my family. When her grand daughter   
   was born she told me about it before she told her own mother.   
   Her relatives could never understand how you could be so close   
   to someone you only know through eMail and the rare phone call.   
      
   Best explained to them as a friend who you can complain about   
   your family to without getting into trouble later..    B)   
      
   ---   
    * SLMR Rob  * What color is a chameleon on a mirror?   
    * Origin: capitolcityonline.net * Telnet/SSH:2022/HTTP (1:2320/105)   
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