Old Friends Meet for the First Time
We’ve never met in person before. We’re friends of words and Internet connections. Yet here we are with our spouses—six of us in all—sitting at a table on the porch of Valley Green Inn. And talking like we’ve known each other for years—as I suppose we have.
I wish the weather was better, so that they could see the ducks and geese swimming on Wissahickon Creek, or that we might see horseback riders trotting down Forbidden Drive. We’ve not had rain in weeks, but today we have a downpour. Like a scene from a Fellini movie, a unicyclist pedals past us. We’re sheltered on the wide porch until the wind shifts, forcing us indoors. We drink coffee, our words and laughter rise with the steam, joining other long ago scents and sounds embedded in the old walls.
thunder claps,
flowers look up and laugh
drink in celebration
For dVerse, Haibun Monday. The theme is shelter. I was so excited to meet Ken and Claudia and their spouses last week. The get-together was Ken and his wife’s idea. I’m so grateful they reached out to us. I thought of Valley Green because we often took my mom there for an August birthday brunch.
Last week I baked a chocolate cake in her memory. Here you go, Claudia.
Yesterday and today: Merril's historical musings 
Wow, how great… it’s amazing to meet face to face. Lillian and George met with me and my wife on Saturday… we had great weather though.
It was great! I knew you were going to meet up with them. I’m glad it worked out.
wow maybe one day when finances and time allow. i will get to meet with some of you dverse poets.
I hope you can, Rog. I was happy that Ken and his wife were traveling and made the plans.
♥️
Shelter of friendship
old souls share laughter
circle complete.
Cheers to you all for the gathering. I’m sure it was a good time for all ❤
Thank you, Lisa. It really was! 💙
❤
What a wonderful gathering of kindred spirits! Lovely photos!!!
Thank you so much, Linda. We had a great time!
What a wonderful thing to do, Merril! I would like to organise something like that for the UK members of dVerse next year, if possible. I love the way you painted a picture of the rainy day, especially the ‘scene from a Fellini movie’ when ‘a unicyclist pedals past’.
Thank you so much, Kim!
I hope you are able to meet up with UK dVerse people. That would be so wonderful.
I would like to do this Kim! 😊
We’ll put our heads together sometime, get Sarah, Marilyn, Kim the Cheeseseller’s wife, and others I can’t think of at the moment to meet somewhere accessible to all.
Sounds great 😊
I so want a transporter! 🙂
Me too 😅
🙂
Awesome.
I can identify.
I have met in person two poetry friends from facebook both meetings i blogged at Lunch Break at posts# 1059 and #1724. One from Canada one from America 😀
Happy Monday
Much 💖 love
That is so cool, Gillena. It’s great to meet up in person. 💙
You hooked me with the scene out of a Fellini movie; what an incredible image. I have several actor friends who perform in circus and carnivals, jugglers, mimes, and unicyclists. How wonderful to meet in person. I live it vicariously; thanks.
Thank you so much, Glenn. I don’t think anyone really noticed the unicyclist, but it did seem surreal to me. But it was really great to meet in person.
oh what fun is that Merril! I love it and your poem. Sweet cake in memory of your mama!
💖
Thank you very much, Cindy! 💙
You’re so welcome Merril!
💖
This is so heartwarming to see! So glad you had the opportunity to meet with other dVersians in person, just as Bjorn and Lillian did recently. Your vivid haibun made me feel like I was there too. I especially love the last line of your prose, giving the sense of familiarity to new conversation. Cheers to poetry and connections made!
Thank you so much, Mish!
It was a lovely experience. Thank you for the prompt!
Meeting kindred spirits on the internet is serendipitous. Meeting in person is almost surreal. I’m glad you had this opportunity. 😀
Thank you so much, Marian.
I’m pleased that we got to meet in person, too–seems like so long ago!
Lucky people. Mybe, someday, I’ll come down off my hill & seek out some writerfriends. Thanks for the cool share.
Thank you very much, Ron.
Wonderful. I’ve never met anyone from WP or the blogosphere, but a lot of them have become good friends of mine over the years.
Thank you! It is a wonderful thing that so many of us have these connections.
There are some good souls out there, sometimes we get lucky and we find them an connect. Lovely post.
Thank you very much. You are so right.
What a wonderful experience for you, Claudia, and Ken to meet in person and enjoy a meal and fellowship together!
It truly was, Liz. Thank you. 🙂
You’re welcome, Merril. 🙂
What a treat! Excellent companionship. (K)
It was a treat, and yes, most excellent!
I love the paradox of your title! So great that Ken and his wife came to see you! What a fun time you must have had together.
Thank you so much, Dwight. It really was great to meet everyone!
I can imagine!
Wow!! This is great. 🙂
Thank you!🙂
Wonderful idea! Yes, old friends meeting for the first time just about sums it up.
I read ‘drunk in celebration’ for that last line 🙂 I hope you did all get a little bit merry.
Thank you, Jane. This is part of what I meant by the busy week and not wanting it to rain.
I told Ken I wanted the transporter so I could visit you.
We were merry, but not that kind of merry. 😏
I see now. Shame you didn’t get the weather, but you got the friends instead 🙂
Yes, exactly right. And the weather was OK for us to sit on the porch for lunch, and also for the drive home.
So you had to sit and talk rather than walk about. Not too bad 🙂
😊
Isn’t it wonderful when that happens? We have known each other for years
It is, and we have. Even my family and friends know you. 🙂
A beautiful haiku that rounds out how serendipitous a storm can be.
Thank you very much, K.!
What a wonderful event that was and I am still thinking about it. I know that memory is one that will stick with me in full detail. I am grateful to have friends like you and Ken. And we are truly friends, even if we have met in person only once! And…that cake in your photo…all I can say is, I wish I were there in person. You know what would happen next…!!! Thank you for all these years of enjoyment of words and communication.
Thank you so much, Claudia. It was really wonderful to meet you in person. I’ll be thinking about it for a long time, too.
If you were here, I would have cut you a huge slice. 😏
Absolutely charming, Merril. And pic to boot!
Thank you so much, Bill!
Nothing beats the warmth of friendship, Merril. I loved your haibun. The laughing flowers was a perfect line! 💜
Thank you so much, Colleen! 💙
You’re welcome, Merril.
Gosh! Such a heartwarming photo! How absolutely wonderful.
Poetry does connect people. Love your haibun and the cake foes look yum. 💙
Lovely. Sometimes bad weather makes it more memorable. Fresher. Funnier. :-).
Very true. Thank you!
How cool! Amazing haibun! 💞
Thank you, Tricia! 💙
This is so lovely and heartwarming to see and read, Merril! The connections we make through our words can be very real and valuable 😊
Thank you, Ingrid. Those connections are real, and it was wonderful to meet in person.
It looks like a wonderful outing and meet-up, Merril, even with the rain. It’s so much fun to meet up with those we’ve been exchanging words with. 🙂
Thank you, Robin. It really was great to meet them!
The word “lovely” does not begin to describe your haiku, Merril. I am so happy for all of you guys!
❤
David
That is so kind, David! Thank you very much! 💙
What a wonderful event! It’s a fantasy of mine, to meet face-to-face with each of my blogging friends, but it’ll likely remain a fantasy. Then again, you never know.
On our last trip out west, we got off the interstate and stopped in to visit Kevin Brennan and his wife for a couple of hours. I can’t remember exactly when Kevin and I connected through our blogs, but I know it was several years ago. And, you’re so right, even though it was our first face-to-face meeting, we talked like old friends. The experience also proved to my husband that my “virtual” friends are just as real as the ones we occasionally have dinner with 😉
Thank you so much, Marie. It really was lovely. It was wonderful that Ken and his wife set it in motion.
I’m still waiting for transporters. 😏 I’d love to see people, but I don’t actually like the process of traveling.
That’s wonderful that you got to meet Kevin Brennan and his wife in person. It is special.
I don’t enjoy traveling anymore. We have a car trip planned for San Antonio in April 2024 (to see the solar eclipse), and I’m already dreading driving on the interstate.
I thought we would have transporters by now. Star Trek: The Next Generation is several generations overdue.
I can’t imagine having a trip planned for 2024. 😏 Good luck with that.
Yes, the whole Star Trek world is overdue. We really need that ship from the future to come back in time and save us from ourselves.
I’d be happy to take orders from Captain Picard. 😁
🤣 Have you watched the new Picard show?
No, we haven’t. I wonder if I can find it streaming somewhere …
All the new Star Trek shows are on Paramount. We liked the second season of Picard more than the first.
Good to know. We found Season 1 on Prime and watched the first episode last night. The ninja stuff was a bit overdone, but we’ll keep watching. Picard is so worth it … 😉
Exactly! You watch it for him, though it’s fun to see some old familiar Star Trek friends. 😊