After meeting Debbie, Carter and Leslie a few weeks ago - I got to thinking.

What is it that makes us so comfortable with each other when we met for the first time?

What is it that makes it feel like we are coming home when we get together?

What is it that makes us so happy just to know that there are others out there that care?

What makes a woman, this is you puschl , bringing her two young daughters to another country just to visit someone they have NEVER met, but have talked to over the internet?

What makes another woman come across the country to be with another Adam fan to go see his concert - whom again, they have never met?

What makes a woman come to visit someone she has NEVER even talked to on the phone, but has shared so many emails?

What makes a woman come to a hotel room to meet a family that is there on vacation?

What makes a woman drive on the 401 for the first time, by herself (you were very brave Debbie), to meet a woman that came up to see her mom?

What makes a woman meet strangers in the Toronto mall - just to share a dinner with them?

These are questions that I have been thinking about over the past two years, ever since I set foot in AO. I am sure each of you has your own anwers or similar stories!

It's hard to answer these questions really - because maybe there is no RIGHT answer here. We all came to AO and now AS because of Adam - to seek out WHY he was such a great singer, to see his videos, to read more about him - to just get to "know" him!

Did we EVER think we would find friendship along the way? No of course not. How could we? Most of us had never even been on a fan site before - we were new, this was uncharted territory, it was scary! Some of us didn't even post on the threads - we lurked. Not posting, just reading, was our way of being "safe". We wouldn't make a fool of ourselves - no one would know us, we were hidden!

But was that enough? We saw so many people on threads answering , having fun - the Kitchen thread was one, that maybe, just maybe someday , somehow we should actually take part and ANSWER someone? Should we take that "leap" and go from "lurker" to "poster"? Would they accept what we had to say? Would we be OK?

The world of the internet is such a scary, crazy place to be. You hear it all the time - on the radio , on TV, in the news, and yes, on the internet! They are telling you all the time - be careful, you never know "who" you are talking to. We tell our children, our grandchildren - be CAREFUL. But being on Adam's site - did WE listen?

Is it something about Adam that made us feel safe?

Is it because other people love him that we feel , we can relate?

Adam is an open, honest, warm man with a huge heart. He loves and it comes back to him in droves. HE makes you feel safe. HE makes you feel love. HE makes you feel it's ok to reach out and touch someone! Isn't that what he says in "Aftermath"? Tell someone they are beautiful.

Have we gotten caught up in the lyrics? Tell someone they are beautiful? Has that changed our preception of the internet? How many of us would walk down the street and actually say to someone "My, you're beautiful"? Not many, if any! BUT being on the internet, in the safety of your own home, without people seeing, we feel a little easier saying it to someone else. And saying it to people we have!

Discussions have started in numerous threads....people come into threads regularly. WHY? Have they seen something in the discussions that they can relate to? Have they found people who actually take the time to "LISTEN". That's what you do on the internet - you LISTEN! It's not like in RW - where your mind can wander - here you have to READ and then you react.

But come into threads we have. I think we all realize what is happening is that like people attract like people. Adam is doing that - attracting people just like him. And with that so are we!

I have been in many threads over the past two years and in them all I see people who are alike - Same interests, same personalities and same loving ways. Like people attract like people!

So for me, meeting these lovely ladies over the past two years and getting to "know" them, has shown me that yes, you can find friends and good ones at that - no matter where you are!

****I will be adding more when I think of things! ROFL! :)