Crossbutter Appleword.

@Thatslifekid - haha... only you would reply with this, D! This is why I like having you around.

Dear Riis,

I wrote a couple of love poems to a gal back in high school with the title: "What are words but a hindrance to conversation." I won't post the poem(s) cause they have nothing to do with your entry.  (Title is a link tho.)

It took me a long time to accept words that aren't actually on paper as something that could be construed as literature. (And when first encountering a word processing program wanted to know when the "page" ended.)
It's interesting reading this that I have some of the same kind of non acceptance when you mention "IM and message conversations". As you state, however, it's the meanings behind the words which matter. I never think of the words as dead. The complete works of W.Shakespeare exist, as words. History doesn't even know if Willy penned them. Perhaps it really was the Earl of Oxford.

If a simple IM conversation with somebody who matters can evoke emotion in you, then those words have "done their job." I've been blogging on the internet long enough to know that no matter how succinct and explanatory one thinks he is being online, somebody else will misinterpret what he's saying.

If we can connect with humanity through language, no matter what form it takes, then it's that connection which matters. The words aren't dead. But they may be resurrected, at least in the memories of those who take the time to read and reread them.

Michael F. Nyiri, poet, philosopher, fool

@baldmike2004 - Wow Mike. I think you really crystallized the point I was attempting (albeit feebly) to make. Perhaps it's the connection, more so than even the exchange or sincerity of words, that I really miss. Deep down, I long for the resurrection of some of those old connections. Right now, it feels as if the end of those lines of connection are irreparably frayed. Hence, the feeling of loss and sorrow.

I do think it's that connection that you miss. 

I had a best friend since high school who lost contact with me shortly after I graduated from university. I always wondered why someone would do that, just stop talking to a friend as if they meant nothing. Maybe she had a reason, but I never knew what that was. We both moved back to our hometown and have thrown into each other's company for the play, but it's not the same between us. We only get together for rehearsals or other play-related things at this point... I still have hope that we'll be friends again, because years of friendship shouldn't just be thrown away. 

We are built for human connectivity. We have hardwire, software, even wifi built into us specifically for that purpose. Life is so much about connecting with another person, and when you sync up with someone really well it is a hard connection to let go of. Whether it is the person or the connection, it is just difficult to see it go.