Mr. Esoteric has looked through my pictures, and found one of me giving a lecture at a local historical society. He asks, which one? and mentions he’s on the board of an area historical society.
This seems like a promising start, so I check his profile, and discover we have similar tastes. I reply with the information, and compliment his taste in poetry. I’m a big fan of T.S. Eliot too, I tell him.
He replies, a few minutes later, with a bit more historical society information, but quickly moves on to music, complimenting my taste there. He enjoys 80’s bands with cult followings, too.
He isn’t, however, a fan of one of my favorite TV shows, The Sopranos. I had to beg off the Sopranos in the episode where Janice had a gun at her head during sex, he says. That was a bit much for me.
I see his point, and have a sudden visual of the scene in question. There were many scenes in that show that might make a person uncomfortable; singling that particular one out makes me uncomfortable.
I tell him: I remember that scene. I kind of feel that way about Game of Thrones – I have to avert my eyes quite a bit. Still weirdly addictive, though. Then I change the subject, and ask him what he does for a living, since all he’s said in his profile is that he works in technology.
He replies: I haven’t seen Games of Thrones but I hear there’s a lot of rapes and murders in there which must be quite addictive as it’s a very popular show. Then he says he’s a freelance web developer and asks if my company is hiring.
He also mentions, in response to a comment I make about Ingmar Bergman movies, that he’s worn nightshirts every night since he saw Fanny & Alexander in the early 1980s.
I wonder how I’m supposed to reply to all this – with a job offer or perhaps an offer of Too Much Information. I attempt to change the subject again, but I’m running out of interest, and so is he, because he doesn’t reply again that evening.
Um. The nightshirts? I’d be running away screaming.
Like watching a slow-motion train wreck, isn’t it?
I imagine at some point, this all just has to have some weird endurance fascination…. like watching a David Lynch movie… but honestly, I wouldn’t have the drive or stomach to continue doing these spacial conversations with “possibly” imaginary people.
The people are real enough, but they are hiding behind imaginary online personas – who they wish they were. But I agree – I don’t have much stomach for it. There’s always one who contacts me RIGHT before I delete my account. This was that one.
that makes him “special”