Post #618289 by Monkeyman on Thu, Dec 22, 2011 10:09 AM

It takes effort to keep in touch with people and contribute to a group. Im not sure about everyone else here but I dont think Ive ever known a group of people this large for this many years ever in my life. How many of us stay in touch with 50+ people from High School... or the old neighborhood? Ive known most of the tiki folks here for almost 7 - 8 years.... thats a long time for me. Lots of change both good and bad. People have married... divorced... died... kids... sickness.. injury...wealth, bankruptcy, job loss etc etc. The baggage of life grows.

In the 80's and 90's there just wasnt an easy way to do it. Write letters to all the people you know updating them on the details of your life? Call them all up on the phone periodically to maintain contact with them? I doubt it.

The early days of this forum were a totally new experience for me. The ability to see what 50 - 100 people YOU KNOW are doing on any given weekend.. what their opinion is on a peice of art or a social topic.

Knowing so many people by name.... seeing them at events on both coasts of the country and saying Hi like its no big deal even though you are 3000 miles from home. It was all amazing for me.

Finding people that I thought were alot like me or had much in common with me. Eventually the honeymoon period wears off. People who want to dislike eachother FIND reasons and ways to dislike eachother. Factions form.. people break off into their own groups.

Eventually the pure fantasy and fun of tiki is saddled with the reality of how people change and behave.

I still enjoy it and love the decor in my home. Its just been a change of priorities for me.