CELEBRATING MATEO

There's a college essay waiting to be written about the whys and what-fors of the friendship I have with Mateo, but this isn't it.

Suffice it to say: After more than a year of intense typing, talking and texting, Mateo of San Diego came to meet Tank Montreal.

We'd predicted that our meeting, in theory, had to be special, regardless of how we spent the time. We wouldn't let it be any other way, we'd promised ourselves.

We were right on the money. We had a super swell time. Mostly, we just poked around the city, not really caring what we were doing or seeing. We talked, we laughed, we walked, we explored, we danced, we ate, we shopped, we took pictures, we laughed some more - all of it framed by our unabashed gladness about being in the same place at the same time. They call it chemistry, folks.

So I'm climbing up on the roof of blogland, shouting out my love, respect and admiration for this man. Yippee - I got to meet Mateo!!! The virtual's turned into the tactile. Tank happy.

And the celebration continues. Big big smiles all 'round.