BillFitzmaurice.info

Over the years, many of us have formed friendships (maybe kinship?) with people we've never spoken to or seen in person. These arm's length relationships not only cross state lines, but countries and even contintents. Some, like Tom Smit, I've never even seen a picture of.

So, when my doorbell rang Thursday afternoon, I had no idea if the guy on the other side was short, tall, skinny, or fat. But after many years of reading each other's posts on this forum, we finally came face to face.

Tom decided to brave the heat (and yes, this week has been pretty brutal for May - hitting the 100 mark) to come see the Texas Hill Country.

He came to one of our outdoor concert series and got to see my rig in action. Then went slumming to a real Texas Tavern/Honky Tonk/Dive Bar to see my band play on Friday. My band got a last minute call to do a Mermaid Festival on Saturday with full production from a sound company on a big stage and he made the extra drive to attend that too.

We got to spend a lot of time talking about systems and sound. I certainly enjoyed the time.

So Tom, thanks for coming down to the great State of Texas.

He even had a Shiner Bock, brewed about an hour and half away.......

Enjoy the trip Tom!

That's awesome!

Aw, shoot, you beat me to it, Bruce! Anyway, I had a very enjoyable time in Texas (that's where all the exes go, according to Blake Shelton, who was quoting George Strait) meeting up with Bruce, his wife, and the band he plays with. Indeed, the weather was a bit toasty, at 95-100F (34-39C), I, also, got to see The Alamo, took a boat tour on the River Walk in downtown San Antonio, stayed at Luckenbach for a couple of hours listening to Country artists with their friends, toured caverns at Natural Bridge Caverns, and walked through the historic part of Gruene(don't know why but, apparently, they all pronounce it as Green).
It was a very memorable vacation.

I'm so deeply touched by this post, Bruce. Thank you. For years, I've thought, surely non of us are highly sought after drug smugglers or pirate HAM radio operators... why are we hiding behind the veil of the "internet", "handles", and "screen names" on sites like this, where we've been talking and essentailly created genuine friendships over the years... but have no idea what each other look like? It's odd, how much value there is in putting a face to a name. And I get it... I may not actually be as sexually appealing as the name "Seth" may suggest. But, let's get over ourselves! I would absolutely love to put a face to the name of all of you!

Bill... especially you. Google thinks you don't exist. LOL But, you may be a bee keeper or a bald Real Estate agent that won an award.

Me:

Tom Smit... It's really nice to finally put a face to the name after all these years.

You handsome devil

Oh sweet, Seth. Where'd you hang out with Dave Rat??

Well done. Several years ago I had intended to visit Ken on my next trip to Canada, right across the border from Tom. I would have got to meet both. The Canada trip happened but my schedule quickly filled up so I did not get around to it. Then Ken passed away. A lesson learned the hard way: don't postpone till tomorrow what you can do today. Well done indeed, Tom and Bruce, and thanks for sharing

himhimself wrote: ↑Tue May 20, 2025 8:11 am Oh sweet, Seth. Where'd you hang out with Dave Rat??

That's what I was wondering!

Seth wrote: ↑Mon May 19, 2025 11:34 pm
Tom Smit... It's really nice to finally put a face to the name after all these years.

Likewise, Seth!

Seth wrote: ↑Mon May 19, 2025 11:34 pmYou handsome devil

Um, I always had trouble accepting that.

Something that I should add is that Bruce kept his word, from years ago, that if I came down to Texas he would buy me a beer. Actually, he bought two!

Thanks, Anton.
Yes, it would have been good to have met. I'm still holding out.

You are on the shortlist for my next trip Tom. It is not going to be soon though, life is a bit busy for such a long trip.

Tom Smit wrote: ↑Tue May 20, 2025 9:31 pm

himhimself wrote: ↑Tue May 20, 2025 8:11 am Oh sweet, Seth. Where'd you hang out with Dave Rat??

That's what I was wondering!

Dave Rat is a friend of a friend. He's my parents' good friends neighbor... apparently the kind of neighbors that go to dinner together and such. I was doing sound for my Dad, a little gig at a local bar.
Their friends came to watch the show and brought Dave and his girlfriend along. Dave and I hit it off pretty well, but haven't gotten together or shot the shit again since then.