I was talking about interesting people, and once again, I strayed like untethered cattle—that's my nature, always wandering...

An old lady—don't think I only come across old ladies! —originally from Czechoslovakia and living in Canada, became a good friend of mine. If I remember correctly, she had arthritis and was always in pain, yet she was wonderfully gifted, knowledgeable, and very lyrical. Her poems had deep meanings. Whenever she posted a poem, she would message me, "Suresh, check it out!"—not check it out. Very humorous, friendly, and helpful. I was in the habit of posting my daily poems at around 4 p.m. India time, which was around 3:30 a.m. in Canada. She would wait until that time, review my poems, and then go to bed. During one of my visits to the USA, much after I had left the Fanstory site, I felt like inquiring about her. Through a mutual friend, I learned that she had passed away. It was a sad moment for me. Even now, I miss her—a friend to cherish forever.

Another lady from the USA, a year older than me (no, no, no, I do have some young friends too!), was a belly dancer a long time ago, a very gifted writer, a candid photographer, a pencil sketch artist, and who knows how many more talents she had. She ran a studio and, at this ripe age, joined a Master's course and traveled to a few countries! What a spirit. She was one of my greatest motivators. She kept telling me—true or not—that I was born to write and should start my first novel. In 2016, when I was in the USA, she drove around 2,000 miles to visit me in Seattle. She stayed there for three days in a motel. She said she was an independent type and preferred to stay alone. Dutifully, she would come to our house at 8 a.m. Throughout her stay, she abstained from meat and drinks in our honor, eating only whatever we prepared for breakfast, lunch, or dinner. She would leave at 8 p.m. We took her on sightseeing trips to nearby places. An amazing person and an amazing visit.

Then there was a lady who was herself

and working for a low-vision clinic. For the New Year, she sent me big monthly calendars, pocket calendars specially printed with large fonts, and some nice-smelling rose stones for my wife. There was also a lady from Malaysia whom I encouraged a lot. I initially thought she was a teenager and used to advise her, only to realize later that she was married and had grown-up children. In fact, she went on to write a book that was published by Amazon. She used to discuss many of her personal issues with me, and another one even wrote a prayer poem for me when I was preparing for another surgery.

There was a master chef, a humorous guy whose wife was also visually impaired. We hit it off well as mutual fans. A guy originally from India was living in London, and later, he moved to Canada and married another Fanstory contributor, who also happened to be one of my fans.

A Jewish gentleman from Eastern USA wrote about various American presidents, and once, at my request, he wrote about Lincoln and dedicated it to me. Both of us had exchanged photographs of our respective houses and gardens.

There was also a lady of Indian origin who wrote lyrically rich poems and later started a small publishing and printing firm. During my visit to Chicago, I had the opportunity to meet her, and we shared our experiences.

To be continued... 23. Parallel Universe - Digitally Speaking - Part 5