What we have here....

I don't have many friends. Not real life friends. I know a lot of unreal internet people. I say unreal in the sense that I only know that part of their life they choose to share. Through thousands of posts I assure you that you see a fraction of my life. Heck, for all you know my name might be Bob, or John, or Phil. I'm not mean, but you don't know me. I don't know you beyond what you choose to share.

In any case, that does not mean I am not concerned when life goes bad for one of my Internet friends. I mourned the passing of Acidman, of Bane, of Yabu. I worry about Dustbury's health. I want to offer encouragement to fellow bloggers facing tough times, poor health, a death in the family, or hard life changes.

The problem is how do you offer compassion or sympathy or a shoulder to lean or cry on to people you don't know and probably couldn't pick out of a two person lineup?  When my best friend suffered his third heart attack I could look at him and offer a heartfelt "Dude, you doing OK?" and he knew the depth of my love and concern. Similar words in a comment section are just lame and pathetic. I have never been very good at expressing my emotions (Some would argue that I am not very good at expressing myself at all). It is areal struggle to let you know in the comments that I feel your pain, I support you, I have sympathy. I usually fall back on my standard mode: I don't comment at all.

To my failure to communicate I can only offer a feeble  "sorry 'bout that". Interpret my silence in the best light possible. I wish it was different, but if you knew me in real life you would know I'm not a hugger, and I usually fail to emote or react well in emotional situations. I don't do personal stuff much with anyone but my wife, only occasionally with friends, and never with strangers. So if I fail to support you in your time of need, rest assured it is me, not you. I am not cold. I am not heartless. I just don't know what to do or say.