justbaseball,
I think your original post in this thread was very insightful:
"We come on here and in some ways bare our soul through our writing unlike we do with our 'everyday' friends. There's something about writing that allows that."
I have met people on this site who I correspond with almost daily, and would go far out of my way just to meet them for dinner or a ballgame, or of course to help if they needed help. We share more deeply and personally than we do with our coworkers or actual neighbors, partly because of our shared love for baseball and for our kids who play it, but also because "There's something about writing that allows that."
And there are at least a handful of members who I have grown to love, yes love. There are many others who, while I don't know them personally, I consider cyber-friends and I marvel at their willingness to help newcomers who they have just "met".
infielddad said:
"Friendships involve making another person, whether you have met them or not, feel appreciated. JT, and many others do/did that for so many of us/me. JT made us/me feel "big." "
Very true. JT was a perfect example of the unselfish people we meet here, who not only keep coming back to help others, but they care about making other people feel appreciated and cared about. That unselfishness, that gracious willingness to give, is a huge part of what makes the "friends" that we meet here so very special.
Julie