VIRTUAL REALITY MADE FLESH: FANDOMFEST APPROACHES

     Last July, I made an astounding discovery. Alexx and I traveled to Kentucky for Fandomfest. There were actual, real live people there that corresponded to various electronic incarnations with whom I interacted daily. 
     For some of you, actual human interactions may be an everyday occurrence. But for those of us who work from home, it is a bit surreal. Sure, Alexx and I go grocery shopping and stop regularly for gas at the same service station. But the tellers, clerks and attendants the we deal with regularly aren’t real people, even the ones who have names. Not really. I don’t know which of their kids has been up three nights in a row. I have no idea which colleges their kids may aspire to or actually attend. I have no clue what they ate for dinner last night, or why they thought one meme or another was simply hysterical. In short, they have only a tangential bearing on my existence, and so for all intents and purposes, they do not exist.
     The corporeal entities at Fandomfest were of a different ilk. In many cases, I already knew the names of their family members, and which trials and tribulations all but kept them from attending. In some cases, I actually knew which memes they found hysterical (although I still have no clue as to why). Unlike the insubstantial inhabitants of the nether regions of my day to day existence, these individuals were front and center, their very beings constituting the central core focus that kept me moving forward from day to day.   
     As many of you are well aware, time flies (except in Russia where it walks). July is upon us once again, and Fandomfest draws nigh. Some of you who are planning to attend may view the weekend as an escape. For me, it’s a reality check, and I’m looking forward to getting real with all of you. 

CK Copyright 7/10/13