The Local Locals

I know of a number of different bloggers from my county; I have met six of them. That doesn't count some business bloggers, either. If I count those there are more.

I know there are others, but maybe they don't mention their location (which is how I usually find local bloggers) or for some other reason their blog just doesn't come up in search.

The local bloggers that I have met in person are:

landuvmilknhoney
Brambleberry blog
Summit Manor
Gracefully Bound
The Blue Ridge Gal (just met her Friday!)
Destiny Booze

I think there are only three bloggers on my Botetourt list that I have not met.

Aside from the bloggers listed on my sidebar, local business bloggers are Botetourt Foot Doctor (a local podiatrist; a good read if you have trouble with your feet), and the Botetourt Paranormal Society (some spooky sort of folks). I have met the people behind these two blogs, too.

To be fair I have to mention the Roanoke Times Botetourt View blog; the author of that, which they call The Notebook, is a good friend (and competitor) of mine who also lives out here.

That's a lot of people I have met personally who blog. A lot of local blogs, too, though really not so many given that we have 32,000 people in this county now.

To my knowledge, few of the bloggers are what you might consider real "locals."

About 2/3 of the people who live here now aren't from here originally. They moved in from elsewhere, from the northern states or the western states or from somewhere in the valley.

To the real locals, unless your momma and granny lived here too, you're not a local. That's as true for folks who moved here 40 years ago as the ones who just got here yesterday.

I am not a true local even though my grandfather grew up on a farm at the foot of Caldwell Mountain and I can trace my ancestors back to 1790 or some such. That's because for a little while my mother's family lived in Salem and didn't stay in the county. My mother and father returned here in 1969, when I was seven years old. I consider myself local, though, even if I lack the full pedigree.

I was saddened today to read a comment from one of the area bloggers about local folks not being very welcoming. The blogger said she had yet to make friends with folks in the area.

I don't know how long this person has been here, but I don't doubt for a moment what she says. I haven't lived anywhere else as an adult so I can't say how folks make friends in other places, but making friends here is difficult.

It's hard even if you know people already and went to school here. And it is particularly hard if like me you're rather introverted and shy and not prone to making the first move.

Unless you go to church, there simply aren't a lot of places to go and meet people. Many of the folks I know because of my work.

That's one reason I enjoy blogging. It opens up a whole new world of friends, and some of them I get to meet in person. And while I may never meet some of you, there you are. Truthfully it's a comfort to know that you are out there, too (because I never imagine that you're reading me because you're up to no good).

Some folks must read my blog and never leave a comment, based on my stat numbers, and that's okay. I hope I entertain you, if nothing else. I consider my unknown visitors my secret friends.

The folks who do comment bring a smile to my face. Frequent commenters make me feel warm and fuzzy when I see their names on my posts. It's the cyberspace equivalent of having somebody drop in for tea!

If you're a local blogger I hope you point me toward your blog so I can read your work, too, if I don't already. I greatly enjoy reading other people's take on life in our area.

And I hope I get to meet you in person. Who knows? Maybe one day we'll really be dropping in for tea!