Billy Mays wrote: Thu Jun 11, 2020 8:51 pm
Tdarcos wrote: Thu Jun 11, 2020 12:24 pmAndrea
Who's Andrea?
Andrea was my dear, dear friend, who I knew for 14 years, who, coincidentally, lived in Colorado. We were about as close as two people who never met in person can be. I met her on line, first, either she saw my profile or I saw hers, and we started communicating, first by e-mail, as she had been burned by previous relationships. Then we had phone conversations and at first she was wary because my phone number showed it belonged to someone else. This bothered me, until I explained that I knew why. I wasn't getting phone service from Bell Atlantic, I had switched to Starpower once alternative dial tone providers became available. And after what had happened I could believe anything.
When I moved to Virginia and moved in with my sister, the only way I could get DSL was to use Bell Atlantic, but shortly later Starpower offered service there, so I switched. The technician from Starpower and the one from Bell Atlantic knew each other. The Starpower tech had retired from Bell after over 20 years.
I had to have the techs come out because somebody - I suspected Bell Atlantic - had screwed up, the new Starpower line could
place calls, which Caller ID showed the correct number, but when someone
called that number, it rang on the Bell Atlantic trunk. I chalked it off to the idea of competing local providers was new, and while I had had it a year earlier in Maryland, that's where Starpower was simply buying Bell Atlantic's service in bulk and reselling it at a discount, in this case, Starpower was actually providing dial tone and DSL themselves; they actually had their own switch, but they leased dry copper from Bell Atlantic
So I figure anything she could see showing who had my phone number was probably the previous customer. She trusted me a little, so I sent her a small birthday present. But she was arfaid to give her address; she wasn't sure if I was normal or weird. (Everyone here knows which one I really am.) So I said, "Fine, just tell me the city and the zip code, and I'll mail it General Delivery," which she had never heard of.
General Delivery is where something goes to the post office and is held for pick up. Mostly it's for people without a permanent address or don't have one yet. So she goes to that post office, says they're supposed to have a package for her in General Delivery, and after she shows ID, they give it to her. Eventually I won her over and she gave me her home address, and we also wrote regular snail-mail letters.
We shared private details that we never told anyone else. She told me things I don't even think she'd share with her toothbrush. She was the smartest person I have ever met, in fact I admitted she was probably smarter than me. (That was a big admission on my part.)
There are friends (1) you know; (2) whom you like; (3) friends you'd help move or do favors for; (5) ones you'd loan them money; and then the highest level (6) that you'd give them a kidney. And she was in that last category. I cared for her that much.
I could say so much about Andrea but I will just say she was my best friend,
primus inter pares, and I loved her more than life itself. And she loved me. And I was privileged to know her for the last 14 years of her life. And I will miss her for the rest of mine.
