Friends. What is the Internet without "friends"? In the short time that I've been "caught in the Net", I've made some wonderful friends. Some have become closer to me than others, but ALL are friends. In this particular section of "Caught in the Net", I will be displaying photos of my friends, and relating how we met. These photos have been re-printed with the permission of my friends (thanks, guys!).
Come. Meet my friends....
This is Anne. Anne is very special. "How and why?", you may ask. I will tell you. Anne was the subject of a recent article that I wrote for NET4TV's "Spotlight" section (if you would like to read the article, which goes into Anne's experiences in more detail, please CLICK HERE). I met Anne during my research for that article in October of this year (1997).
The reason Anne is so special is because she has used the WEBTV as an aid in recovering from a terrible automobile accident, rather than as strictly an entertainment tool. The accident left her brain damaged and paralyzed on her left side. She had a brilliant future ahead of her before the accident not only as a successful business manager, but as an aspiring astrophysicist. She was in the process of getting her Ph.D in that field when the tragedy struck. This was in 1992. In 1996, she bought the WEBTV, and has not looked back since. WEBTV has helped her recovery tremendously.
At first, our meeting was strictly business--me interviewing her via the e-mail. Then I began to read her different homepages (she has at least 25 of them scattered all over the Internet on different site providers). She talks frankly and openly about the accident and her experiences since. I was left speechless. Reading those pages encouraged me to get to know her better. Its kind of hard to explain, but I WANTED to know her and help her more.
As a result, the "professional" interview turned into a very nice friendship! We began by e-mailing each other every day, then it was back and forth e-mails in one session. Eventually, I was able to get her into a chat room, where we had a pretty good time. Being paralyzed on the left side, means that she has use of only one hand. She was worried that she might take too long to respond, since she was typing with the use of that one good hand. I told her that it was nonsense, and to take her time.
I hear from her almost every week now, and sometimes multiple times during the same week. And recently, we even spoke on the telephone to each other! It was great! Yes, Anne has definitely become one of my best friends on the Net.