Rampart

So again we are off, taking out our trusty e-mail we head towards Yonkers. We call Rampart from the Tappan Zee Bridge and let him know we are on our way, yes more of a warning than anything else. We follow directions that are so exact, perfect and written so intelligently that anyone could follow them! Our next call again is to say that we are hopelessly lost, the directions were so perfect that if you follow them line for line you could not get lost. However, if you happen to skip a line as I did, you were doomed to be Lost In New York!! Rampart directed us to his home, and even flagged us down from the street. Again it is amazing how nice everyone was to us! Rampart, his wife and daughter welcomed these strangers from Texas into their home - and more importantly onto their computer! I had been away from IRC for along time now and was going through withdrawals. We spent a wonderful evening with me IRC’ing and being treated to a wonderful dinner as they all welcomed us as if they had known us forever. The next plan was to drive into New York City and find our hotel room. This sounds easy but country hicks from Texas were really out of their element in that place. Knowing this, Rampart and his wife escorted us into the city, deposited us all in our hotel, and gave us a tour of New York City. We saw all you can see in a few short hours and finished the night with coffee and yet more talking. They returned home leaving us to finish our sight seeing, with plans to meet us again January 1, 1997, hangover and all!

Demon, MikeyS and Rampart

After spending New Year’s Eve near Times Square (with a few hundred thousand other people) we met MikeyS, his son Demon, and Rampart the morning of the first. Our combined three family’s packed into two cars and did a whirlwind tour of New York. It still astounds me that these people were so nice to us, and took the entire day in freezing cold weather to be our tour guides. We talked for hours and saw all the sites, well all you can see in one day that is. For the record if anyone has a stereotypical idea of what a New Yorker is, and it does not include the words, friendly, thoughtful, caring, gracious and helpful, then you have never met a true New Yorker as me and my family have. Albeit they do talk funny, as is proof with Houston Street. Gee, can you imagine pronouncing it House Ton Street!!!! When all three families were near exhaustion we decide to head back to Yonkers and have dinner before once again heading on our way. This may sound easy but, our van had been left in a parking garage for two days with the interior light left on, and the battery was in no mood to start the car. So here we were with our new found friends, freezing to death trying to coax our van into continuing our trip. After what seemed like hours, and chilled to the bone, the van starts and we are off to Yonkers. Rampart drove our van as we were way to intimidated by the New Yorkers idea of driving to even attempt it. We finally made it back to Rampart’s home and the eleven of us sit down to dinner and talk. I cannot overstate how wonderful they were all to us, never allowing us to help pay for dinner, and making us feel so welcomed in their home! We attempted to find a room for the night, as it had grown late on us, but again they would not hear of it. They made beds for all of us and treated us as if we were family. My twelve year old even has plans to attend college in New York, and stay with her New York friends. The next morning we are off again headed to Mississippi and to yet another wonderful family.

Tuttie

We drive 19 hours from New York to Hamilton Mississippi and to say we we’re tired when we arrived would be an understatement. I had met Tuttie before at the IRC party in Houston, but I had never met her family. Had not even talked to them on the computer, so the intimidation was there when we called to say we were in Hamilton. Tuttie was working, her husband said he would meet us and escort us to their home. When Tuttie’s husband and daughter brought us to their home it was heart warming to be treated the way they treated us, like old friends almost family. They had a meal waiting for us and were so friendly it renews any doubts anyone may have that this world is a great place to live. As I said Tuttie was working and where would this world be without nurses like Tuttie that spend untold amount of hours in an emergency room helping people. Her bedside manner is not lost on anyone who has ever met her on IRC. When she returned home we talked for hours that evening, and through the next day. We were tired from our trip and Tuttie and her family made us feel so welcomed, and her home in the country was exactly like paradise to us. They treated us like royalty for our entire stay, entertaining the kids with fireworks and making sure that we wanted for nothing during our stay. We begrudgingly left January 4, 1997, and said good-bye and shed a few tears, for friends like these go far beyond just IRC friends. They are friends for life!

We arrived back in Texas the evening of January 4th and although we were tired, we came back with a renewed faith in people. It may sound a bit corny, but we were treated with such kindness and openness, to say that we were welcomed everywhere we went would be a gross understatement.

To date I have met 17 people from IRC and I intend to extend that number whenever possible. I have met Barnowl, Stareyed, Capri, Percale, PA-Guy, AngelTx, Nite-Stalker, MrDelta, Sunshine, Shyguy, Attitude, Rampart, MikeyS, Demon, Tuttie, Stitch, and MaryE. I work on a job that kind of shows the bad side of people most of the time. And through this adventure as well as all my meetings with my IRC friends I am again reassured that people are wonderful and I enjoyed meeting every last one more than I can say!!!!!!!

This story was written by a person who has no talent at all for writing!! So with this in mind enjoy the story and e-mail if you enjoyed it!!!! NO CRITICS PLEASE!!

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