RuthG

I don’t think I can remember my first encounter with Ruth but i do know it goes back a long time. I remember coming up with this idea of meeting her last summer when I was in Chicago and missed this opportunity. Lo and behold, I was fortunate enough to have another trip to Chicago and to meet Ruth.

I knew she was going to be late to the meetup. Her saved seat was strategically placed across from me =) Having her at the meetup made it complete.

I had the pleasure of meeting Ruth in person for the first time this weekend and gave her a big hug when she arrived. She has been such a positive person here on 43Things, supporting and encouraging others, and her inner beauty shines through in person as well. Our time together was too short, but maybe next time I visit Chicago we can have a game night like she had with several other Chicago 43ers who didn’t make it to this meet.

Why I like Ruth? She knows THE BEST pizza in Chicago!

Thanks!

RuthG’s creative and social goals often inspire me to rethink my own. She’s very supportive and has often managed to say just the right thing in her comments.

This woman cares about injustice.

She & I had talked about having lunch together sometime since our workplaces are in the same neighborhood. Today we did—but we didn’t eat anything. We spent the lunch hour-plus listening to speakers calling for divestment from companies doing business in Sudan, then marching arm in arm amid a crowd of students & activists, calling out passionate pleas like

XXXX, you can’t hide!
You’re supporting genocide!

What I want to say is, she has that wembleyhead of hers on straight. She is a centered, principled person who stands up and yells for justice. And I love that.

This weekend I met RuthG, the poet, teacher and quiet inspirer of many a 43 Thinger. What did we do? Well, we talked. And talked. And talked some more. (Well, put a podcaster and a poet together, and what else did you expect?) Topics spanned a vast expanse. We talked (amongst other things) of violets, cinnamon, bananas, composting, religion, Shakespeare, poetry and story. And story after story we did share. I wouldn’t be much surprised if we counted up the topics and they magically added up to 43. Ruthji is as warm, gracious and spiritual (and yet refreshingly down-to-earth) in person as she is on-line.

It was an honor.

Bookish & I have gotten to have some good talks this weekend! And tonight we went to Devon Ave. & found ourselves a delightful little vegetarian restaurant with cuisine from both north & south India, as well as Gujarat, & we sampled nearly everything in the buffet & enjoyed every bite!

Even though we’re still getting to know each other, it feels as if we’ve been friends for a long time. Conversation flows easily & we understand each other readily. That’s a rare gift.

Ruth was gracious enough to host the wonderful board game party, where a bevy of Chicagoland 43thingers gathered. She was great hostess and somehow managed to decipher my crude drawings from Thexder’s sentence/drawing game. Not only that, she gave me a great job lead. She’s definitely one of the gems of 43things (see tags to the right).

Because she is exactly what I expected: peaceful but not bland; fun but not superficial; gracious but not superior; welcoming but not invasive; and self-sufficient but not cold. In short, I felt more balanced just from being in her home and spending time with her. I really look forward to spending more time together in the future.