When I was in Houston after Hurricane Ike hit the area, I met one of my long time readers, Bob, for lunch. Another reader, Dennis, was supposed to join us, but for reasons I've long since forgotten, he wasn't able to make it. I learned from Bob that Dennis died on Monday. While the nature of our wired world is that we often don't have close day to day interaction with or knowledge of those we connect with online, I now find myself mourning someone I was never fortunate enough to meet in person.
One of the amazing about blogging for the past 8 1/2 years is the number of people from all over the world who have touched my life. I'll never meet the vast majority of these people, of course, but that doesn't mean that I haven't felt the impact. There's something incredibly profound about realizing that my writing is read by people the world over. How many people the world over read WWJD is difficult to know, since I long ago stopped trying to keep track. Whatever the number may or may not be, I'm grateful to be able to speak to the world in the manner I am. I may not be changing the world, but people like Dennis have certainly changed me.
Dennis' memorial service is today, and Bob tells me that the church choir that he and Dennis sang in will be trying to perform as best they can. My thoughts are with them today, and I find myself grateful for interactions that Dennis and I shared over the years. I can only hope that he's in a better place.