4 Responses

  1. Linda Sands
    Linda Sands at |

    This reminds me of fifth grade when I got mad at my parents for not letting me sign up to have a pen pal. There was a list in the back of one of the kids magazines I’d snatched from the dentist’s office and I felt this ad calling to me, for a mere five dollars, i could be friends with someone far far away. Someone who would never borrow then ruin my favorite shirt. Someone who couldn’t possibly steal my boyfriend.
    When my mother refused to write the check, I sent my own cash, taping coins to the letter and then riding my bike tot he post office to post it. A few months latter my first letter from my Irish pen pal arrived.
    We kept in touch for several years, telling each other secrets we’d never shared, explaining how our country worked or didn’t, talking about boys and school and family, she was my confidante … until the fighting broke out in her county, and the letters stopped coming. i never found out what happened, not sure I want to. Sometimes I see her all grown up, raising children of her own, standing behind them as they click on a cyberspace friend list and hit “accept.”

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  2. Laurie
    Laurie at |

    Wow, this post takes me back. I used to pay my so-called friend Debbie a flat fee out of my allowance to come with me on my walk to the store on Saturdays. Most of the time, she even said no, proving that indeed, I couldn’t even BUY a friend.

    I can see how I could use this system to pick up some karma points… but I’ll admit I just can’t take the rejection that might occur if I register and no one picks me. Red Rover, Red Rover… guess who’s NOT coming over?

    Thanks for the cool post and introduction to a unique example of ‘web culture’.

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