Perhaps one of the most eagerly anticipated meetings of my life, I finally got to spend time in the presence of Straight White Eric.

It was too long in coming.

I first bumped into him over at Madfish Willie's Cyber Saloon, where he was a frequent commenter. I liked him immediately, because he "got" what Willie's place was all about - good-natured misbehavin'.

He was a good fit there, displaying a great talent for unconscionable flirting with the ladies as well as for knowing how to get off a perfectly targeted zinger of a verbal shot at the fellas. Enough to make you laugh at yourself and yet still have you feel complimented rather than insulted. In the realm of male bonding, there's always that fine line between a fair hit and a black eye, but Eric never crossed it. Plus he could take it with the same good humor as he gave it out. Just a damn fun guy.

As an example of his perceptiveness, at one of Willie's comment parties, he dedicated a song to me (CTRL+F "Conga" or look for the comment dated March 9, 2004 05:13 PM) that fit so damn well with my own raw sense of humor that I adopted it as my theme song and named my blog after it when I crossed over to my new MuNu host.

The song was Warren Zevon's Mr. Bad Example. Probably one of the best things he ever wrote. The tune is catchy and the lyrics are just plain fun. A perfect fit, if I do say so myself.

Eric was the first blogger I ever talked to in a non-pixelated way. Seems I'd left the name of my hometown in some comment or another, and the stalking loon looked up my number and called me sans warning or invitation. It was especially weird for me, since I'd just finished listening to an mp3 of him flapping his yap, so I actually recognized his voice. Throughout the half-hour or so of friendly, comfortable conversation, I was dazed by the paradoxical twin sensations of talking to a complete stranger and a dear old friend. Quite disorienting, and Eric still loves to chide me over my "deer in the headlights" reaction.

I had hoped to meet him in Orlando during the Bad Example Family & Friends Reunion, but - since he's a jackass - he didn't make it down.

Chicago fixed that problem.

For the most part, you'd recognize him from his blog. You can actually hear the ellipses when he talks.

What you DON'T know about him just from reading him is how talkative he is. His posts are usually short & self-contained, but in person (especially after a few glasses of social lubricant), he can carry on endlessly. However, he's also an accomplished story-teller, so this is NOT a bad thing.

The other thing you don't realize is just how much that mischievous sense of humor pervades his personality. He just loves to play and tease & rassle around. Reminds me of my dog, Bandit, when she's in one of her roughhousing moods.

Not that I'm calling Eric my bitch, but... well, maybe I am. Guess he'll just have to pay me back for it later. Mheh.

Anyway, the thing I know about him but didn't get to see enough of while I was in Chicago is that he's also prone to deep thoughts and making non-obvious abstract connections. Like when I asked him why he liked playing pool and he compared the thought behind the game to the way a good blogger finds the subtle angles behind the words he uses to write a good post. Something I never would have thought of, but an excellent point. Sadly, he didn't have an opportunity to go too far into the analogy since he was too busy running the table. I'd love to see him write a long post on the subject someday.

So whether the atmosphere is barroom rough-and-ready, or sipping drinks and philosophizing, Eric's presence makes for good companionship.

Can't wait to hang with him again.

Posted by: Harvey at 10:42 PM | Comments (6) | Add Comment
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