Two years ago, I met a friend. It was kind of surreal. I’d known them for years up to that point, but it’s always a little bit of a jolt to formally introduce yourself to someone who had been a distantly-broadcasted voice moments before, a satellite ghost made manifest. The usual pleasantries were discussed. “How was the flight? What sort of food are you interested in trying here? Have any sites or tourist-y things you want to do?” But, of course, what ultimately happened was that we sat down to drink a few beers and talked about Monster Hunter. I try to imagine what that must sound like to someone of an older generation.

One week ago, on July 22, Chiyo Miyako, who had been the oldest living human at the time of drafting this, gave up her title. She was born in 1901, about 13 years before the first fixed-wing commercial air flight. The idea of flying cross-country to meet up with a friend you met on a computer could have been considered science fiction to someone who, 110 years ago, would have been a 6 or 7-year old kid.

Then again, to someone born the same year that Marconi sent the first transatlantic radio signals, perhaps this is the logical conclusion – an ever smaller, ever more-connected world.

Today, I still have to pinch myself. “Yeah, I met a good friend I’d never seen before. We talked about the time we slaughtered a virtual monster-snake as big as a mountain on the tiny computer that 7-year olds also play on.” Now, don’t worry – we will have plenty of cynicism at a later date. At the moment, though, it’s worth taking a step back to appreciate the moment in which we find ourselves.

Look past the easy hellscape of the present internet. Twitter mobs. Assaults on the notion of truth. The loss of shared culture via curated realities. Rule 34. The noisy, blurry, fractious, and unfathomable call for your attention, to renew your subscription in Today’s Outrage™ for yet another cycle.

Friendships, lifelong ones, have grown out of that muck. In this neck of the woods, it’s all due to a modest hobby. Remember those? The things you did to enjoy yourself instead of wasting time to reply to the troll in the comments section? The things you remember, that matter to you, that stick with you like a stiff drink, or a mesmerizing plate of food?

That’s what I’m in this for.