This Way Up | Only the lonely know...

Nancy Julian and I did something that is anathema to confirmed loners like us - we got together.

We met one day recently at Le Bus in Manayunk to discuss something near and dear to our hearts: Loner Liberation. (Our battle cry: "Loners of the world, separate!")

Julian, 52, of East Falls, is a recovering lawyer and aspiring novelist. We've become e-mail buddies after Julian sensed we had something in common (besides our love of language and disdain for lawyers).

A few years back, I wrote a column that spoke to Julian:

"There are those who need to surround themselves with chatter and commotion to validate their existence. I feel most fully alive when I'm by myself, alone, able to hear myself think," I proclaimed.

"I like my own company; I'm pleased with my own conversation. Like Cicero, I am never less alone than when alone. Like Thoreau, ...