From: One of Each

Ode to S.A.M.

Of late, I feel I've really been on the same wavelength as S.A.M. It's time to quit ignoring it and just go ahead and write my love letter.

For awhile now, I've been fascinated by my internet friendships. I know people join dating services and meet people online, but this is different. I have developed real connections with people I've only met a handful of times, and all because we read each other's blogs. If I were still working on my sociology degree (I'm still just a paper away from that Master's!) I thinkI would delve into this topic. Sadly I'm not clever enough to write about it without academic prodding, but fortunately S.A.M. tackled the subject for me in the latest issue of Fertile Ground. I did much head-nodding while reading her essay, glad I wasn't the only one who thought this phenomenon was noteworthy.

Today S.A.M. has a blog post about why we stay in Memphis, even though we all know it is a cesspool. And it's the same thing I've always said. I'm a person who likes stability, likes to put down roots. When we were in our twenties, with no responsibilities and the whole world at our feet, I would shoot down the thought of leaving Memphis. My reasons were mainly that if I moved somewhere else, I'd live the same life- I'd find a few restaurants/bars/hangouts that I liked, and I'd frequent them. I'd get the same type of job, and go to it every day. The only thing that would be different is that I wouldn't have my friends and family with me, and what's the point in that to a person like me? Yes, sometimes Memphis seems to suck. But when it does, I imagine myself in a different city without the people I love, and I just work through it.

So I was already feeling the S.A.M. love when I received this email today: "Does anyone have any interest in joining Team S.A.M at the Riverkings game tonight?" She thought it was a longshot that any of her friends would want to go to a minor league hockey game. What she didn't know was that earlier this week, while watching hockey highlights on SportsCenter, Connor turned to me and said, "Can you take me to a hockey game?" I had already checked the Riverkings schedule to find a suitable night when we could take Connor down south. We had decided on March 10 (Hockey Mr. Potato Head giveaway night), but tonight suddenly seems like a much better option. I think we'll even listen to Sign O' The Times on the way to the rink, just to make the experience complete.

Then tomorrow we'll deal with the restraining order.