A Farewell Tribute to Travis and Gina

Alisa asked me to write a sort of farewell to Travis and Gina as they embark on their new adventure in St. Louis. I think I started about three different drafts in my head. I tried to wrap my head around the fact that two truly great and truly interesting people were leaving town. Two people, who when I told out-of-towners that there were cool folks in Fresno doing cool stuff and just being all around cool, I was talking about them. So they are happily moving to St. Louis. Which is better than unhappily. It’s better than if Gina had like an outstanding warrant and they had to move back so she’d have to spend the next few months in jail and at that point it just made sense for Travis to give me his scooter and move across the country with her. That would be less awesome.

So I sit down to write. Write a farewell and tribute to their impact on Fresno web culture. And I can’t. My writing process begins with putting the subject in a box and staring at it. Accepting it. 

I bundled up the idea of the end of Travis and Gina’s Fresno web presence in a box. I stared. And I don’t accept it.

For starters, Travis and Gina both manage to merge their online and real life personas with rare aplumb. Read their tweets and Facebook statuses and their personality shines through. They aren’t freaks on the Twitter and a lady and gentleman at the coffee shop. Their special brand of honesty, humor and personality pushes through their web presence. So when you meet them for the first time, they are exactly as you hoped they would be. It’s this type of social media savvy that will continue to pervade the way the rest of use social media in the future. They are ahead of their time, in many ways, and so in that way they will always be with us.

Travis Sheridan does too much. His personal blog is filled with stand-up sets, rants and profiles of interesting Fresnans. He helped develop 59 Days of Code, The Hashtag and is the host of Pecha Kucha. Travis Sheridan announces he’s leaving Fresno and Mike Oz asks him is: “Who is the next Travis Sheridan?” The real meaning of which is to say: “You haven’t even left and we feel there is a void to be filled. Who will get an infected tattoo of the city flag on their calf? Who will wear a wrestling singlet in a public place? Who will give their red Vespa to Anthony Taylor? WHO?” And so the next person who loves this city and what it can become, the way Travis does, will be called “The Next Travis Sheridan.” So in that way, he will always be with us.

Gina Becker IS too much. A sexy librarian who loves the drink, the cat and the dolls. It’s almost too perfect. Gina unwittingly became an advocate for the things we love here in Fresno. People being quoted out of context in an amusing way and our deep desire to believe in unicorns and talking dolls. If you know Gina, she has this ability to connect with almost anybody the way the rest of us THINK we’re connecting with people online. Quotes of the Week, Overlooked and Underloved, I Work at a Public Library, Pantyhose and Sneakers…she’s got so many blogs, she needs a blog to list her blogs. Her point of view and magical spark will live forever in our online Fresno. She’ll always be with us.

Write a farewell and tribute to Travis and Gina. Nope. Can’t be done. I can’t say “Bye” and won’t give them a closing tribute for their contribution. Because they will still be bookmarked for me. Their IP address may change, but their mark on Fresno continues to stain.

-Anthony

1 month ago  /  4 notes