Lunch With a Quitter

It never ceases to amaze me how much quitters have in common.  Regardless of social background, political affiliation, etc. two quitters can get together and chat about nothing but “quit” and feel totally comfortable.  I had the opportunity to meet a fellow quitter this afternoon for lunch and once again was blown away by how much this “stranger” and I had to talk about.

Trying to explain “the site” to someone that doesn’t get it generally gets you some weird looks.  Trying to explain to someone that you’re going to meet someone that you met “on the Internet” will get you some weirder looks.  I remember the first time I told my wife I was going to go meet some quitters.  She said, “Let me get this straight.  You’re going to meet some guys from KillTheCan.org?”  I said, “Yes… I can’t wait.”  She said, “You know what’s going on here… you’re on a blind date.”  When you put it that way it really is kind of weird (no offense to the dating sites out there).  But let me tell you it’s OK… these people are nice.  They’re just like me and you.  They’re quitters.  You have something in common with them.  We refer to it as “The Brotherhood” and I promise you, it’s an amazing thing.

For those first-time-meeters out there here are a couple of tips that might help:

1. Make is social.  A bar, a restaurant, etc.  This is a much better first meet place than, “Come on over for dinner with the family.” (though that has been known to happen)
2. Get a group!  If you’ve got multiple quitters in your area get them ALL together.  I can near guarantee that you’ll have a blast.
3. Get a cell phone number.  There’s nothing worse than showing up for a meet not knowing for sure if the other person is going to be there.
4. Find out what someone looks like.  If you’re like me you have a mental picture of people based on their online profile but you really don’t know.  A simple, “I’m wearing a salmon shirt” goes a long way.
5. Exchange real names.  Personally I don’t mind being called Chewie but some people out there might not want to be addressed as “Hey Quitter123431!”
6. Get there first… let THEM deal with it 😉
7. Do it… get out there and meet your brothers.  It will help you add additional accountability and you may just make some damn good friends in the process.

On that note… anyone up for drinks and a ballgame in Cleveland?