Every weeknight at 6 PM, my husband and I watch the BBC World News on PBS. I'm always curious to see a European news outlet's take on America. Then I switch to network news and watch the American left spin.
The other day while we were watching, I said to my husband, "You know that anchorman, Mike Embley? He's getting a Border collie puppy."
"Really," David said. "That's so cool." Pause. "Wait, how do you know that?"
"We're Twitter buddies," I said.
I explained that a day or so earlier I had decided to follow Embley on Twitter after he'd plugged his profile at the end of the broadcast. Embley followed me back, saw on my profile that I have Border collies, and wrote me a note about how he had a Border collie growing up and is getting a new puppy in a few weeks.
We've had a lovely little chat about how Border collie owners are a bit crazy. A chat, like two friends chatting over the fence.
And then it hit me: is that weird?
I mean, a new anchor is certainly not a celebrity, but here I am watching this guy on TV; he's halfway around the world and I know that he had a Border collie growing up, he's getting a puppy, and he too had chickens until they ate his garden. (No, they didn't eat the chickens; I asked. They gave them to a local farm. Phew.)
Then again, my life is an open book. And believe it or not, there are some (very deluded) people who think that writers are celebrities. Even hacks like me. People see my byline in a magazine and think 1) that I'm rich and 2) that I'm interesting. (No to the first, and the second depends on how uninteresting your own life is.)
So there you go. I'm Twitter buddies with a guy on TV. Let's see if BBC World News anchor Mike Embley goes slightly crazy when he gets that Border collie puppy in a few weeks. And I'll be watching for dog hair on his jacket!
Visit the Great Chicken Adventure blog and the It's A Dog's Life blog. Don't forget to follow me on Twitter!
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