I usually stay away from the ‘wear my heart on my sleeve’ threads, and maybe this really isn’t one of those. Anyway, I had an odd moment with my friend, the www, today.
While searching for some info on an entirely unrelated subject (field methods in geophysics) I ran across a site devoted to the WASPs of WWII (Women Airforce Service Pilots). Well, we all know how those search engines are. I was doing this with my partner and she knows that my Dad’s first wife was one of such and was killed during the war flying with the service. So she encouraged me to look her up. It seemed like a good idea to me; I’ve always been curious about her - the few photos and the obit I have are interesting but minimal in info.
She was there. I was curious. I really wasn’t expecting this, but it hit me like a hammer. I got a little misty-eyed and couldn’t quite say why. I never knew the woman, she was dead a few years before I was born. But I’ve known about her and this site gave me some more info; I now know some particulars about the crash, what kind of bomber she was flying, etc. It didn’t affect me directly, but I know it really sucked for my Dad. He’s been dead for a few years; maybe it just got me thinking about him. I don’t know.
Normally, I can be pretty emotionally flat, and that serves me well in the business environment. The real sellers I know can put all their flesh and soul into a deal and suffer more than I when something goes south. There’s something to be said for both sides of that equation.
A guess would be that a lot of the impact of this interaction could be attributed to the spooky nature of finding something as personal as this on the web.
Somehow ‘spooky’ doesn’t quite do it…
(Thank you for sharing, beatle; now get back into character)
Regards