I came online for the first time in April of 1998 but did not go into the Oldies Room until 2 months later. I had tried a few other chat rooms but they never seemed to talk about the subject of the room and they seemed 
very cold and hostile. Being a DJ, I noticed the Oldies Music room and went in. No sooner had I entered, than DUKE and SPNRNN said hello to me. I said to myself, WOW, how do they know I came in the room. I was kinda spooked. After realizing just how friendly everybody was in the room with the singing and the trivia, I decided to keep coming back and to be honest , it’s the only chatroom I have gone to ever since.
My name is Rich and I was born and raised in Philadelphia, PA and now reside in the suburbs with my partner, Mamie. I am divorced (married for 29 years) and have 3 children. I have been in the collision repair business since 1965.
I’m a 60’s kid, so the music of that era, especially DooWop and Motown are my favorites. I just never got into the Hard Rock sound like most of my friends did. I really like R & B and lots of other types of music. Like most Roomies, I do not have one favorite artist or song. The list of my favorites literally goes on and on.
I am told that I am the only roomie with the distinction of attending all 6 HUGYFEST’s. I have also attended 2 ROCSBBQ’s, 1 CHICAGOFEST and 1 TEXFEST. I have had the pleasure of meeting many of the roomies. One in particular that I met at HUGYFEST2001, has become the love of my life and I hope to walk through the rest of my life with her at my side. You all know her as Mamie or DANGLE526.
In the almost 6 years that I have been a regular in this room, there have been so many times that I laughed so hard that my sides hurt but a couple of them stand out.
We used to have a roomie named KATE. I had met KATE at MADPOETS and at HUGYFEST2001 and she is really nice and a lot of fun. Well, KATE used to come in the room and tell jokes, but her jokes were not very short. There would be about 25 lines before she got to the punch line…And along the way she would correct herself, like … ” wait the girl said that to the guy”. By the halfway point of her jokes, we would all be in stitches and it seemed that poor KATE had no idea why. We were all laughing so hard at her jokes even before the punch line. She would just continue to the punch line and of course that made it even funnier. Then she would wonder why nobody had gotten her joke. I really miss KATE and her humor.
Moment number 2 has to be the hot tub party for my birthday which I think was In 2000. Can you imagine 23 roomies with their vivid Imaginations, simulating taking off their clothes and getting into a giant hot tub??? LOL. People were getting snapped with wet towels, doing group dips, stealing clothes, running and sliding along the sides of the tub and anything else they could think of. Somehow it was all done while walking the thin line of decency, that we do so well. LOL. I remember BRIT was there, LORIANA, JAZZ, SPNNRN, DOVEY, I think AIDY, SWEETSHAR and TERRI-LEE were there also and maybe a few others. It was a long time ago. LOL. Mamie happened to drop in that night but she was a “newbie” and didn’t participate with us but she has told me that after watching our shenanigans that night she thought we all had a screw loose.
I really enjoy most everything that goes on in the room and I particularly enjoy the times leading up to and right after a FEST. I also enjoy when the “Newbies” come in. They provide great comedy relief as they try to figure out just what is happening. That is one of the reason why I prefer the main room over the “Private Rooms”.
One thing I want to say is that people should not lament that the room just isn’t what it used to be. Nothing stays the same and the room is just a sample of life with all the different personalities thrown together. I personally would like to see more tolerance of the differences between us. One of the best sentences that I have ever read said, to give a person the right to do or like something other than what you would do or like. But what I would REALLY like is to have “the BOLT”. Think of it as tolerance in a holster. lol
Gohawks, thanks for the opportunity, Roomies thanks for being you and I wish all of you good health. For with that, you can literally do anything.
Hits: 6
