The amazing thing about this board....

[hoggie]

and the internet in general - is the amount of different realities and normalities it allows us to share.

All the talk this week about the weather got me thinking. Where I am it snows very rarely, wind we get a lot of. There are those who post here on the board who consider a 20 mph wind to be a problem - to me (and others here I am sure) that is a gentle breeze. On the other hand there are those of us for whom 2 - 4 inches of snow is either cause for celebration or cause to shut ourselves in (depending on our natures LOL). For others it hasn't snowed until it is 3 feet deep.

And I started to think about the other normalities we glimpse. Since joining this board I have "spoken" to so many people. I have spoken to people who have never seen the sea. I have spoken to people who have never been on a plane. I have spoken to people who live on huge ranches that I can only dream of. I have spoken to people who can build their own log cabin. And real life cowboys I have spoken to long distance lorry drivers. Ex submariners. People whose religious convictions are so much stronger than my own. I can't even begin to count all the different normalities I have been allowed to glimpse since joining the board. People who live lives that for me exist only on calendars andin books. And people who consider my life to be just as strange.

The internet CAN be a wonderful thing - thank you all for allowing me to see into your lives - it's a wonderful world

hoggie

[AngieM2]

hoggie - you are so correct! I cannot imagine living on a small island.

And all the folks you talked of here, most of those I'd never have known either.

Thanks Internet and Homesteading Today members!

Angie

[hoggie]

Angie, WIHH, I knew someone on here would know what I was getting at

hoggie

[7thswan]

I, one of those sorts that rarely leaves my piece of Heaven . I used to live such a different life, Traveling,being in the limelight, having to pretend I was something I'm not, all the backstabbing. Here doing what I do, the gardens, the animals, my crafts, I'm where I'm supposed to be. So I get to live vicariously thru other people,all the things that are so interesting. It's very nice that people can share the way they do on here, might seem so simple to many but it is a great part of my day. It's awsome learning about different ways of doing things in faraway places.

[puddlejumper007]

well said everyone....i also love this place...

[jlxian]

I agree Hoggie, it is truly fascinating. I love reading everyone's stories and getting glimpses of their everyday life. And their day to day reality can be so different from mine. I once posted a photo of a neighbor's cow on another board and a reader from the city remarked that she didn't often think of cows, much less see them everyday (which I do!). It tickled me anyway. So, yes, I understand completely what you are getting at! It is one of the many things that makes HT so very enjoyable.

[Windy in Kansas]

I consider what I have learned from my Internet interaction to be the college education that I never got.

Quite a number of years ago I used to send 400 to 600 emails per month. A few even went to Antarctica as well as other continents, islands, etc. Naturally I finally had to reclaim my time/life and change all of that.

The best part is of course the wonderful folk you come into contact with whether of like mind or with differing views. I've known Cabin Fever and Wind in Her Hair since 1999 and we met not so very long after that. Wonderful couple, meet them if you get the opportunity.

Great post hoggie and right on the money.

[chewie]

i agree, super post. i get a kick of hearing a way to do something, that someone has been doing forever, and i just learn it, and ah-ha! i keep to myself mostly, at home, in a very rural area, so getting some of this info would otherwise just simply not happen. thanks for all those who share!

[ejagno]

The most wonderful part in my view is the personal truths that come from a board such as this versus the trash and misconceptions people get from the television.

In my case it was personal following hurricanes Katrina and Rita. I sat in a hotel several hundred miles away and watched in awe at how they portrayed our people. They found the most trashy, ignorant and uneducated people to interview. They showed and manipulated some scenes to appear worse than they were. Then of course we were already dealing with the after math of "Waterboy" which left alot of people actually believing that we got home by swamp boats, had donkeys in our homes and alligators as pets and just plain uneducated.

I've learned so much about places and people that I'd grown up having serious misconceptions about until I was blessed with a glimpse into their lives here and on other forums.

We southerners are all learning alot this week from our northern members as we learn how to handle these sub freezing temperatures. At the same time our northern friends are shocked that our homes aren't insulated like theirs and why or that some of us have never seen a snow shovel or heard of an ice chisel. It is truly an amazing world united in a small speck on the world wide net.

[Ann-NWIowa]

I too love hearing about the differences in lifestyle, different climates, different views. The one thing that bothers me is the narrow mindedness of some people who cannot listen to others and learn without running them down. I've learned to tune them out!

[Denise K.]

I enjoy reading and learning about different areas and how people do things. I don't post much but I have sure learned much. Have made many plans to one day visit many areas (have to retire first!) from how people have described their locations.

I have learned many different things to do and try in the future. Its like a big family sometimes, we have to agree to disagree and there is not always one "right" way to do things.

I also enjoy when many of you post pictures of your places. They are beautiful! One day I may even learn to post a picture and I'll share mine.

Denise

[ladycat]

Originally Posted by hoggie

There are those who post here on the board who consider a 20 mph wind to be a problem - to me (and others here I am sure) that is a gentle breeze.

20mph is pretty normal here. It's not windy until it hits 40. High winds is when it hits 60 or more.

Originally Posted by hoggie

On the other hand there are those of us for whom 2 - 4 inches of snow is either cause for celebration or cause to shut ourselves in (depending on our natures LOL). For others it hasn't snowed until it is 3 feet deep.

The south is less prepared for extreme cold, just as the north is less prepared for extreme heat.

[sweetbabyjane]

It's amazing how much you can learn from this site about other places and ways of living. I especially like seeing different view points on things, even if I disagree.

So many times I read an opening post and form a pretty solid opinion about it, only to find that after reading some well written and thought out responses that my opinion changes! I love seeing how others think and seeing different sides of the story. It opens your mind where you can accept that others have different but just as legitimate and justifiable opinions as your own.

Makes me a better "listener" if that makes any sense. Not so quick to cast judgement or spout off my own advice.

Is there really such thing as an ice chisel? Who'd a thunkit.
SBJ

[gracie88]

I was floored, the first few months reading here, hearing about other places' heat, humidity and bitey things (it was summer, obviously). I now stand in awe of people in the south and mid-west who venture outside with what sounds like half of creation waiting to eat them (I have seen the bugs in the mid-west), and poisonous snakes laying quietly in the path instead of up in the rocks with a gentlemanly pre-bite warning noise. Some days just reading in here is a little like an adventure.

[ronbre]

Me, I've never flown, but I have seen the sea in a trip to Texas and LA..

when you mentioned Katrina it reminded me of our house fire..i wasn't on this forum but another one then and the people from all over the world that chipped in to help us emotinally and give us support was amazing..total strangers..we were fortunate to meet some of them later on.

my home has lovely gifts from all over the world sitting here and there warming it up from these strangers too..

advice..wow, can't believe how much i've learned, money i've saved from good advice..etc..support..another wonderful thing..thank you all

[danielsumner]

I too find it amazing to interact with people from all over the world, with different cultures, lifestyles, ect. One experience stands out to me in particular. In 2007 I took a trip to Africa. Went right by myself. Met many wonder people. During the trip, I met small group of folks and we hired a guide and did a two week safari. During our safari (camping) we were all expected to help with the chores. (cooking, washing dishes ect.) One of the guys in the group was 28 years old from London. After dinner he was standing there while we were cleaning up and look quite mortified. We were concerned because of the look on his face. He confided in us that he would love to help wash up the dishes, but he didn't know how. We just stood there dumbfounded. He was embrassed, but told us that he had never washed a dish in his life. We quickly taught him how. He had never washed or folded clothes ect. He was from a very wealthy family and these things were always done for him. Food was served in the dining room, and clean clothes were always in the closet. That was the only thing he knew. He was from an ethic group were extended family lives in the same home. They had servants for everything, just their way of life, he didn't know anything else. He wouldn't let anyone else wash the dishes the whole safari, he thought it was the neatest thing. We overheard a conversation on the phone between him and his Mother, He was so animated as he relayed his experiences, not so much about the safari or the animals we were seeing, but about how he was helping out with the chores. This made me realize that you can't all judge a book by the cover. If he wouldn't have told us, we would have just thought he was a lazy rich kid, but it was he didn't know anything else.

[sidepasser]

I may have to move to Ohio. I know no one there except the people I work with and have only met two of them in person when they flew down here to Ga. Thanks to HT, several members in Ohio have been pm'ing me with advice and contacts so I can try to find a place to live for me and one horse.

Y'all are the greatest, I am so proud of every one here -those that have been through trials and tribulations and have shared both your sorrows and those that share their joys - the birth of children, grandchildren, new lambs, new foals and those that are just starting their HT adventures.

I have been a member for a long, long time and it warms my heart to see that there are folks who will go out of their way to help a fellow HT member.

[Murray in ME]

This is a great thread Hoggie. It is amazing to me that there are so many people here who are incredibly different. From different cultures, locations, backgrounds, and climates. We can all come together here and form this wonderful HT community where for all our differences, we're also a lot alike in many ways.

[FarmerChick]

great site
internet is wild. I love it.

people are so different everywhere. Some think like me while others are just thru the roof --haha