Do you COEXIST?

Our first of what will hopefully become monthly or so MMT Happy Hour gatherings is today at Cactus Jack's from 2-5p! No pressure, drop in if you like, leave whenever you want, tell people who you are or remain mysterious. The weather is sucky, but that's all the more reason to make an effort to get out and shop local! Hope to see you there!

ScienceChic wrote: Something that I do know that helps: meeting your virtual sparring partners in real life. It's a lot harder to be mean and nasty when you've had lunch or drinks with that once-anonymous username arguing with your viewpoint. Every time I see archer or LOL or netdude or BlazerBob post, I picture their faces, and hear their voices saying what's written - it humanizes it and makes it a hell of a lot harder to react with a knee-jerk emotional response (or take it personally). I've now had lunch with Resident Troll almost a dozen times, there are hot-button issues we will never agree upon, but we respond to one another on FB with the utmost respect because we've gotten to know one another. If that hadn't happened, it would've been a lot easier to get outraged at his comments because I didn't know where he was coming from. I don't agree with much of it, but it helps in understanding why he said what he said and to break down that which was written/argued, rather than get upset at our differences. This idea of getting together isn't new, and has been brought up here before, it just hasn't materialized. I've kicked around the thought of having a regular, no-pressure, drop in as you like, monthly Sunday happy-hour gathering, but just haven't set it up because Sundays are a rare day off from events and meetings for me and I was loathe to take away that one day I don't have to drive up the hill and not have any free days left, but I do believe this is vitally important to the health of our forums. What do you all think? Would you be game for that? Brooks Place Tavern would love to host us, and we can rotate around to support other businesses. We've met for lunches before and they've been a blast!

Rick wrote: I like your idea Sharon, and even though I've resisted the urge in the past, it is time I put a face to the words. Sundays can be tough for me because I've been calling that family day for a few years now and it's rare to have spare time then, but I will look for other opportunities as they are presented. Maybe I'll start with that lunch I once promised and never attempted, or I'll just drop in on you and say hi for starters