Using the Internet to pick up, er, friends?

Talked to a friend yesterday about online chat. We did our fantasy football draft in a chat session and he said he had avoided them in the fear that some stranger might abduct him. Well, not really. But it was funny. I talked him through the chat session and he did fine (except for drafting some Arizona Cardinals).

But his joke reminded me of the almost paralyzing fear that some people had regarding meeting people online. The strangers and the abductions and the nefarious activities: all the kinds of things my family still fears about the internet. And there is certainly some peril out there for the uninitiated.

So we had lunch with some new friends--friends that we met on the internet. This was a first for all of us, I believe. They are bloggers too (and here), and after exchanging emails and comments and recognizing that we all live reasonably close to each other, we decided to meet face to face. We chose a restaurant equidistant (roughly) and set the date and time.

Wow.

Little nerve-wracking at first.

But then, damn cool.

After all, it isn't every day that you go on a blind, er, lunch date with two other couples. I know that sounds weird, but accurate. And it was a great experience. Funny and interesting people are usually good lunch partners. And that proved to be the case here.

So nice to find people in this area who are asking many of the same questions and who share some of the same frustrations. People who share similar values about justice and peace (even if some flirt with Nader!) :)

Nice to know that we are not alone out here in the Oklahoma wilderness. So, thanks to new friends.