The Dangers of Cyberspace Connection...

Over the past year Pat and I have been following closely the blog of a gal who lives near Richmond Virginia by the name of Beth. She is a single Mom with 3 daughters and 2 sons. We have developed a cyberfriendship which has included occasional phone calls and attempts to actually meet up. Finally we found the opportunity. She lives on the way to Megs and in April we are going to make an overnight stop there on our way. She invited us to stay at her Mom and Dads so she brought this up to them at their supper table with her kids in prescence. Here is how the table conversation went as she described it on her blog:



"We ate dinner with my folks tonight, which was nice. Odd that we had an evening where everybody was in one place, with no demands, commitments or traveling. Mom made homemade lasagna and homemade cheesecake (so much for reducing my caloric intake today) and we had a good time visiting.
Over dinner, I said, "Mom, I wanted to request a room at your Bed and Breakfast; I have some friends coming in town for the night. They're from Ohio. Can they stay here?""Oh, sure. Wait - from Ohio? Who is it?"


Shannon chuckled. Mom looked at me with a moderate level of concern and interest." Are these the people from your blog?"


Sarah laughed maniacally."Yeah, mom met these people online and she's inviting them to stay with y'all. What if they're serial killers or something?"


Me: "I really don't think so. Have you seen their blog? Do they look like serial killers?"

Shannon chimed in."Mom, if they're killers, you ought to invite them to stay at our house, not murder Grandma and Grandpa."


David spoke up."What if they're pirates? That would be cool."
A stunned silence settled on the table as we looked at him and realized that he was, basically, completely serious. We stared at him for a moment, then he spoke again."Okay, not pirates then. But what if they're Ninjas? Now that would be awesome."

And so.....we replied on comments.....


Ahoy, maties, Ninja Bill and Pirate Pat here.... As always you just put it out there as it occurs....I love it! We feel like we were there at the supper table with you, the kids and Mom and Dad. We certainly can understand the concerns.... First, Sarah....a perfectly natural concern that someone that her Mom met on line and wants them to stay at her grandparents house.....could be serial killers. I applaud Shannon's courage for suggesting the serial killers stay at her house to protect Grandma and Grandpa. I would hope one of my own Grandchildren would be so thoughtful! As for David....whose very picture coveys his interest and excitement at the possibility of having pirates or Ninjas visiting....IT IS HE I MOST CAN'T WAIT TO MEET. As we read and reread this blog entry our minds were racing at the creative possibilities for how we might show up!! Of course we must also be sure that all minds are at ease about our POSSIBLE visit......so how can we assure that our blog of a couple of years portray a true picture of who we really are..... Some thoughts......


1. Google such things as Dawes Arborateum to see if the place I asked her to marry me really exists....
2. Allow us to provide names, social security numbers, reference lists of people to contact to verify our identities, do background checks etc....
3. Come to Newark for a previsit interview. We'll meet at the VanAttas who your girls already know...
4. When we arrive....meet us at a police station to verify our identities, check our luggage for ninja throwing stars, pirate swords etc5. Have us send you in advance our AARP membership cards...
6. Each of us fill out applications on eharmony.com to see if we are a match..OR....just take your chances!

We will keep you posted on the everevolving cybersaga!