You Want MY Autograph?

By now those of us who have been blessed have had a chance to enjoy the holiday with our families and friends or enjoyed an opportunity to give back to the community in some way, shape or form. We've eaten enough to fast until February so it seems and we've decided which gifts to keep or re-gift later. Then we get tootsed up for some New Year's Eve party or just pack it all in and head to a warm bed leaving the cold and carrying on for others to deal with and recover from in the morning.

I tend to ask myself not only if I did or experienced anything special but also if there was anything particularly unique that happened, good or bad. In this case I like to think the experience was quite good indeed.

I met my first fan.

I've been a fan, many times, like me and Adam Brand pictured here. Since pre-school, though, our friends and family have supported our various pursuits, be they sports, theater, writing, musical instruments or singing and across the spectrum of talent. Some of us are now "A-Listed" at the most exclusive parties on both coasts while the rest of us indulge ourselves in pottery, painting, cooking, macramé, triathlons, fishing, bowling and golf. Some of us blog, for ourselves mostly but always with some kind of hope that it catches on, that someone out there finds us. The point is that our friends and family continue to both appreciate and encourage us be they as tone deaf or color blind as we are or truly objective and astute in critical mind and experienced eye.

I was back home on the East Coast visiting family earlier this year before the weather turned but far enough out to not seem like I had just moved home with the holidays coming up. During a casual tour around town of some of the places that meant a lot to me one way or the other I chose to stop by my old apartment building in the middle of town to visit with my former landlords who were very good and caring towards me during my six years there.
One of the two ladies is no longer at that location but the property manager, my mother and I enjoyed catching up on good times when we got around to the subject of my travels around the world. As I mentioned that I keep this blog about those experiences a new leasing agent at the property suddenly perked up.

"Oh, I've read that before!"

It was harder to determine who was more surprised, me or her. Having never met her before and thus encouraged or cajoled in to following the website, I listened with stunned excitement as she explained how she simply stumbled across my page. She was complimentary of the subject matter and the writing style and I still remained shocked in to complete slack-jawed silence. Those of you who know me are aware of how rare that is.

Out of the millions of websites, both professional and personal floating through space somebody that I did not know or target specifically found mine and enjoyed it. And I actually met one in person which is the point of this particularly unique story. To the others who have also found The Traveling Optimist I thank you for your curiosity and continued support. To my first random fan, you have re-gifted my goal in the most pleasant way possible.

Thank you and Happy New Year.

Gotta go.