Spin me a yarn

A friend and I were talking about “famous” people on twitter.  It started off with her telling me how shocked she was that so and so followed her just out of the clear blue.  I had no idea who so and so was, but my friend is working on a movie project so she follows and knows people in that industry.  She wasn’t star struck, just surprised over the follow.  I told her that my 14 year old daughter just about had a heart attack in the car earlier that day when Jerome Jarre favorited a tweet written by her best friend.  She had no idea who Jerome Jarre was, and honestly, I don’t either, but my daughter was about to hyperventilate because it was such a big deal.

All of that got me thinking.  Who do I know on twitter that’s considered “famous”?  I’m twitter friends with several people who’ve gained some attention for their writing which has since morphed into some semblance of fame for them.  I am thrilled for them!  I would love to have lunch with some of them someday, but I felt that way before they were recognized.  I loved them because they shared their stories.

Then I started thinking about all of the other twitter/blogging friends I would love to meet for lunch and hear their stories, and that list is long!  Some are “famous” in the true sense of the word and some are just rockstars in their own houses, but both are equally awesome to me!

Here are a few (and by no means is this a comprehensive list) people I would love to meet.  If I’m ever in the same town as these folks, I expect a lunch date, to meet for drinks, or a nod in my general direction.  Give me something people!

Neil Kramer – I’ve followed Neil and his blog since 2007.  The stories written by his penis made me a tad uncomfortable at first, because, well, I didn’t really want to think about any penises at all at that point.  Penises were part of my problem and his was just so out there.  I participated in both Great Interview Experiments he offered on his blog and have instant messaged with him back in the days of Yahoo instant messaging.  (Do people still do that?)  (Neil, do you even remember that?  I think it was sometime in 2008, because I was in Turkey at that time.)

Brittany Gibbons – I have known Brittany since 2008.  She was the Barefoot Foodie back in the day and still ashamed of her body.  She was just as gorgeous then as she is now, but she’d never have believed it.  I absolutely loved how she announced that she was pregnant with Gigi.  She still holds the record for owning the biggest computer monitor I have ever seen!  I made up a story of how we met back on my old blog and I have absolutely loved watching her grow over the last several years!

Casey Carey-Brown and family – I haven’t been reading Casey long, but I love how excited she is about writing!  And that Roozle is so cute!

Vinyl Villager (Not a big tweeter, but his stories about his mama are some of the funniest things I’ve ever read!)

Will Stegemann and Nina Bargiel – I met Will through Neil’s Great Interview Experiment, and he intrigued me.  His lovely wife is just as intriguing so I was thrilled when I moved back from Turkey so I could watch the live weekly video chat they did together without having to get up at the crack of dawn.   Also, Will’s 3 Tweet Stories were genius.  And his dog follows me on Twitter.

Heather Spohr – I’ve read Heather for a long time now and feel like she is one of the good ones.  Seeing her commitment to her family and friends is refreshing!  I don’t think I’ve ever read a negative word from her!  I will never forget waking up that morning in April, 2009 and checking on little Maddie Spohr.  She was sick and in the hospital, but she had always pulled through before.  This time she didn’t.  I was forever changed.  I feel privileged to be able to read about the Spohrs and their beautiful and hilariously funny children!!

Sarah – I’ve read her through her last year at college, through a break-up, through meeting Mr. RH, and the wedding that followed.  She is the only person I’ve ever “known” who is a true shopper.  She amazes me!  She does something I can’t stand to do and makes it look fun!

Cameron Esposito – Funny lesbian comedian who makes me laugh.  I enjoy laughing so I thought it might be fun to laugh over drinks.  Or lunch.  I’m not picky.

Arngrim – Because she was Nellie Oleson!  That’s a good enough reason right there!  And she has attitude which I love!

Drae Campbell – Because of this and this.

DJ – who doesn’t have a twitter account as far as I know, but her blog has always been a must read for some reason.  Something about packing up and leaving everything and everyone and starting over felt so raw.

Those people up there are in no particular order.  Just people I thought of off the top of my head.  I then spent over an hour looking for and linking to relevant posts about them.  And here are a few more sans links.  Chely Wright, Chrisor Babe, Jennie McNulty, Fr. Shay, Sarah Pepper, MomoFali, Juli Ryan, jeezlouise, Sara Gilbert, Kristy Sammis, Karla Archer, Casey Mullins

OMG…I have to stop.  There are about 100 more people I could put on this list!  And I could spend hours linking to them, but you get the point.  We are all interesting and have amazing stories to tell!

I don’t care if I ever achieve any sort of fame.  I like to write here and there, but I’ve never been recognized for it.  I’ve promoted myself some but not for fame or recognition.  I said something that seemed important somehow and needed to be heard.  

I recently commented on a tweet asking who all planned to keep blogging in 2014.  So many blogs have died because of various other social media outlets, that the future of blogging seems uncertain.  I love it here.  Even when I don’t write that much I still love it.  I still read back over posts just to see where I’ve been and how far I’ve come.  I don’t dwell on the past, but I read it like it’s meant to be read.  Like history.  I still have the blog I wrote while I lived overseas.  I love it!  I have the secret blog I wrote when I was in the midst of my first love affair with a girl.  It is steamy and painful and enlightening.  It’s my story.

When I was little I used to love to visit my grandmother in Southern Arkansas.  I always slept in her bed with her, and every night I begged her to tell me stories from when she was little.  I had a few favorites.  The time their cat had kittens under the house.  The time she carried her grandmother’s knitting from one house to another when they moved.  The time when her older brother died.  Stories about swimming in the pond.  So many good stories.  I wish she had taken the time to write some of them down.  I would love to read them today.

So all you famous and not so famous people.  Since I can’t pop by for lunch or drinks, tell me a story!  I’m a good listener!