Our first encounter was a slightly tetchy exchange on Facebook about a year and a half ago. My assistant principal, Michele, had posted an online game of sorts. Her cousin Carol pops off, third response from the top, and I pop back two later. I've reprinted the exchange, below:
Michele Montana
Let's see if this works.
Monday, February 16, 2009 at 8:11pm
Rules:
* Grab the book nearest you. Right now.
* Turn to page 56.
* Find the fifth sentence.
* Post that sentence along with these instructions in a note to your wall.
* Don't dig for your favorite book, the coolest, the most intellect
"It is a chip of mind, a pleasing intellectual object."
Joan Lesko Giardina "She's Mommy's girl."
February 16, 2009 at 9:25pm · Like ·
Marie Feehan Simmons Then bail is denied until the preliminary hearing :)
Carol Montana Please forgive me, but do people really care about this stuff??
Lydia Bassett Tyner I sat up.
Joan Lesko Giardina {With all due respect to one of my boss's relatives, let's hear it for the triumph of pleasant goofiness over excessively rational killjoyishness!}
February 18, 2009 at 11:03pm · Like ·
Joan Lesko Giardina Sorry, Carol, my accusation of snarkiness was a little harsh…I do see your point…hope you didn’t take offense!
February 21, 2009 at 8:09pm · Like ·
Carol Montana No offense taken, yet. When did you accuse me of being snarky, and why?
March 3, 2009 at 10:17am · Like ·
Joan Lesko Giardina Carol, See above. Apparently I used a rather sophisticated synonym for snarkiness, but a kvetch by any other -- oh, excuse me, I was apologizing! ;-)
March 11, 2009 at 11:14am · Like ·
Carol Montana Got it. I was in a particularly foul mood that day, and didn't give two hoots about what was on page whatever (please forgive me, but unemployment does that sometimes). Apology accepted, and I'll try to be less snarky next time.
So you work with cousin Michele? Do you teach? Are you an administrator?
Joan Lesko Giardina Lucky me, I'm right next door, and work is hardly the word. We LOVE Michel, and are so lucky to have her. I'm the literacy coach and unofficial administrative mascot. Today I'm am home green, though. Not pretty.
March 11, 2009 at 11:22am · Like ·
Carol Montana ooh, so sorry - feel better you mascot you
Joan Lesko Giardina thanks, and I hope the employment situation is looking up for you! (p.s. don't drop the snark. it's the sign of an obviously strong critical mind!)
March 11, 2009 at 11:26am · Like ·
Carol Montana Thank you, and thank you, I'll keep it. LMAO !!!
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Carol and I continued to socialize on Facebook. She turned out to be every bit the mixture of snark, intelligence and engagement I sensed in her after that initial exchange. She is also wildly creative, truly talented. We chatted about her theater productions, breathtaking photographs and the thoughtful reports she wrote for the Catskills Chronicle. And we commiserated, fists e-wagging, about the world's injustices. To this former theater major, and weekend writer/photographer/windmill-tilter, it was a fast friendship.
Over time, Carol regularly invited me to the various plays in which she acted and often directed. But the three-hour schlep to her Catskills home was beyond g.u. When summer vacation/sabbatical began, however -- with a plan that included seeing old and neglected friends -- I delightedly accepted an invitation to this brand-new old friend's local library fundraiser, "Shorts and Sweets," a reading of her favorite short stories, with dessert! I wondered if our cyber friendship would stand the test of virtuality...
Carol picked me up at the bus, and we gave each other a warm, familiar hug. She looked just like the tiny, artsy earth mother powerhouse her pictures had captured! We sprung her husband Ken from his rehab facility, where he is recovering from hip replacement, so he might join us for the festivities. With a little time to kill before her reading, we stopped off at an adorable mom-and-pop coffee house for a snack and chat. The waitress on the counter just happened to be the lovely 17-year-old Summer, who was the daughter of the library e.d. hosting the fundraiser, and who also had double-billed with Carol in a number of plays and musicals. Carol, Ken and I had a cozy get-acquainted coffee break, then headed for Hamish and Harry, the bookstore where the reading was being held.
To be continued...
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