Date: Thu, 06 Mar 1997 13:46:39 +0000
From: Lenara Verle 

The weather is hot, and there's some wind. It's supposed to get a lot colder when we climb up till NY, so I guess I should enjoy it now! I've heard somebody is planning to take us to camping somewhere. I don't know any details.

Everytime I say I'm going to take a train people make weird faces. When I talk about buses the faces get even worse! Well, I've found the roads great, and also the automatic cars (we don't have them in Brazil) My sister and her boyfriend are headed to NY in a GrandAm Pontiac.

More news later, Lenara

Date: Fri, 7 Mar 1997 20:55:01 -0600 (CST)
From: Ed Stastny 
Subject: Tallahassee

The Big T. Having loads of fun with Melba, Paul and Lenara. Toured art studios today, gearing up for PANIC tonight. Went to the ABCLiquorLounge last night and sat in the cozy tiered booths and chatted with all members of the OzWonka crowd about things we never talked about on CUSeeMe. Very cool. Went on a boat ride at Wakulla today... saw gators, cooters and the invisible snake. I guess we hovered above some Mastadon bones too.

Going camping tomorrow.

Very little time to catch up on EMail... maybe on our 5-hr Jacksonville layover on Monday.

...e

I arrived in Tallahassee by bus late on Thursday afternoon. I'd been delayed five hours by Amtrak's illogical scheduling of my "connecting" bus ticket. Not a big problem, gave me a chance to explore the business district of Jacksonville and wash my hair in the sink at the bus-station. Hung out with an older gentlemen I'd sat with on the train all the way from DC. His name was Joe and he looked a lot like Alec Guiness. The force was with us. I hope I'm as vital as Joe when I'm his age. He was sharp, open-minded, friendly and always went on about wanting to get off the train so he could "ride his bicycle, lift barbells...and do some country dancing". I have him a copy of Impulse Freak and we shared a locker.

But on to the metropolis at hand, Tallahassee. I was very nervous for my entire bus-ride, anxious about meeting Lenara and Melissa, both whom I'd known only via email and CU-SeeMe and brief phone-calls up to that point. I have a chronickally low opinion of myself, so I was afraid they'd be disappointed in my physical and immediate presence. As the swampy terrain peeled by, I put my thoughts in order and prepared to just let what happened happen.

I found Lenara and Melissa sitting in those molded-plastic bus-station seats having some quiet conversation. I walked up silently and sat near them, hoping to catch them by surprise. They noticed it was me, immediately and we all exchanged nervous smiles. Awkward, yeah. Uncomfortable, not really. Melissa's hair had a lot more colour than I'd thought...and Lenara was a bit shorter than I'd expected. I have no idea what illusions I'd shattered of me. We'd all just cannonballed into the cold lake of reality.

One of Mel's friends, Eli, ran up and greeted us outside. Back at Mel's house, her roomates Leah and Cadra offered their welcomes. I immediately felt comfortable and among friends. What a nice wad of humanity. It was quickly becoming dark. Mel served us tea. The living room became shadows. We made plans to have a get-together at the ABC Liquor Lounge that night after some dinner.

Indian food bonanza in a converted Arby's. Melissa, Lenara, Cutler and Cadra were all in attendance. Quite a hunk of yum-yum! Conversation flittered and fluttered around a variety of subjects, but most notably we heard the American debut of Lenara's story about the machine-influencing baby chickens. A story I'd make her repeat a half-dozen more times at appropriate lulls or links in conversations. Cutler and I had to go to cash machine a few blocks away and exchanged plans for the inevitable dooms-age of our planet... when the ice-caps melt... or the asteroid hits... or the aliens invade. Apocalyptic bonding.

The Liquor Lounge. We were a bit late. Paul Rutkovsky, Keith Roberson and several of the OzWonkazoids were there. The Liquor Lounge is merely a bar with a bit of creative seating, some pool and foozball tables and a jukebox with cool music. They ran out of Guiness while we were there, so we finished off our drinking with some "other" "stoutish" concoction. Lots of fun meets and conversation. It was quite odd to meet all of these folks face-to-face. Better then I could have ever hoped for. I'd better not heap the praise on too high or I'll reveal my true geek-core. Tanya and I talked about toys and Pac-Man in specific. Emily and I talked about travelling mainly. Kristen was too busy getting hit on by some married guy. We all ended up talking about cool movies and various tids and bits of trivia about them. Jack Nance is dead. Wings of Desire is a favorite. Who was on the soundtrack of that? Just a good night out, I guess.

Lenara, Melissa and I stayed up late just talking. I was constantly warning them that I snored... and fell asleep during one of Lenara's translated jokes. Something about a car.

(MORE TO COME)