Belated All About The Good Love, Baby: anidada

I met Ani, which I shall call her regardless of real names or other factors, on another message board, in a land called Mookville. We were pretty nearly a continent away from each other, but got along nonetheless. For the longest time, it seems, she was primarily a name that made me happy -- then we realized, in the midst of exchanging comments on various life situations, that we knew folks in common, through the game industry of all things.

I have drifted away from that other board, but I've kept touch with Ani through our LJs. She's the best of what drew me to the other community in the first place: intelligent, caring, a great mom, and a wonderful friend. I love hearing about her Adventures in Parenting, and I'm constantly astounded at how much she gets done -- both for herself and for those she cares about. She's just a really cool person, and I like her lots. :)

All about the good love, baby: iavasthul

iavasthul undoubtedly chose this LJ name just to frustrate me as I continually have to remember how to spell it, so I shall therefore call him "Don," from this point forward. Nyah. :)

I met Don lo, these many years ago, back when I was living in Albuquerque. He was a cute little boy toy that my roommate and friend brought home one evening, and he sat on my couch and watched movies with friends and flirted with them incorrigably. :) Ah, those heady days of youth.

Somewhere not long after that, he turned from boy toy to boyfriend to near-fiance to friend for my friend, and from cute acquaintance into a dear friend of mine. He dubbed William the "Baby Buddha" when he was little, and he shares a birthday with Alisdair. He was always willing to help out, no matter what, from moving a house to moving a body -- even diapers were not beyond him, a testament to his internal fortitude as a young single guy. He was eternally welcome at my place, and still is, in fact, not that it's much of an option any more.

I love Don's warm sense of humor, his quick wit, and his willingness to be there for people who are hurting, even if it means taking a hit himself from time to time. In a time when it seems that people are afraid of everyone and more concerned with getting by than getting through and helping those around them, Don stands out with a spirit so bright that it's almost blinding. He is wise and compassionate and just really, really cool. Of all the people I knew in Albuquerque (and many of them I moved there in part to be near), he's the only one still there I really talk to any more, and certainly the only one who's ever gone out of his way to contact me. That means more to me than he could possibly know.

We left Albuquerque right before he met the lady who became his wife, and long before his own son was born, and it saddens me that I have not yet found a way to make it back for a visit, for I would very much like to meet them. Anyone Don loves must be a very cool person, after all. Maybe this next year I can arrange a visit. It has been too long. *hug*

All about the good love, baby: pgoodman13

Patrick was and is a long time freelancer for FanPro, and it's in this context that I met him. He's a talented writer and a good human being, which is no small accomplishment in and of itself. One of the things I really like about Patrick is that although he has problems, he's always trying to do the right thing. He worries and frets and rants and raves, but during that process he boils down his alternatives and tries to make the best decision he can. This should never be underestimated as a personal virtue.

Though we don't always see eye-to-eye in politics, he takes the time to try to understand the view of the other side. He makes considered decisions, and he has the compassion of someone's who's suffered themselves from time to time. I don't always keep up with him as well as I should, but I'm glad to call him my friend.