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THE TWINKLE (San Diego)

I read somebody's profile making a very clear point that she is happily married so "no twinklers please". Okay, I believe that I completely misunderstood what a twinkle is and I sent quite a few. I first join InterNations while in Italy and everybody "twinkled". It was the easy way to let somebody know that we found something interesting in their profile and that if they chose to connect, it would be fine, if not, no pressure. Similar to: "Hi, I wouldn't mind connecting with you, but I understand if you can't or don't want to. Don't feel bad." Much better than receiving a lazy blank message and than have in some cases either have to reject, block or, if it is simply so hard to do, keep that person on pending status hoping that somehow it will be less hurtful. By the way, I also do not know what happens if I ignored a request or later decide that I really did not want to accept the request but felt just too bad to reject it (I am not like some Facebook aficionados who compete about the number of connections "friends" they can put on their face page). Do they receive an e-mail with a big fat "This.... has blocked you?" or "Rejected your request?". I prefer the twinkle; it is a "Ciao whispered in the air like neighbors used to do long ago in a small town just to acknowledge each other's presence. That did not meant, "Now I am obliged to invite you in for cookies and tea".
Meanwhile, thank you very much to all those who twinkled me back; I even re-twinkled them. I do not care why you twinkled me, just happy you did, whatever your cultural interpretation is. I am Italian and American too, but the geography of my mind and the landscapes of my history make me open to all people just as they are.

San Diego Forum

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