facebook alien

The musical group Simon and Garfunkel had a song that went something like this:

Time it was
and what a time it was
it was
a time of innocence
a time of confidences
long ago and far away it must be
for I have a photograph
preserve your memories
they're all that's left you...

The facebook phenomenon has got me to think'n, so before you read this post, you better put your hip waders on because this is some pretty deep (insert word of your choice that begins with s).

If we are all sitting in our own private movie theaters watching our own version of how we perceive the world to be, how bizarre it must be to use facebook to connect with people. Here are some observations:

Using facebook sometimes is like being a time traveler from somewhere in the past. You suddenly appear out of the blue and completely freak people out. I am sure it is unsettling and unnerving. You might as well be an alien from another planet. Like a pair of shoes you wore when you were 10 years old, you no longer fit and/or serve any useful purpose as a friend. But we try them on anyway don't we...nope too small.

Our friendships are like a commuter train moving along the tracks. The train stops and picks up and drops off people along the way. It has a destination, but that destination is different for each passenger. Some people miss their stops and fail to get off. Maybe facebook is like that? Maybe some passengers are lost, do not know where they are going, and/or do not want to be found. Can you say blocked?

Friends may be like leaves on a tree. They bud, grow into leaves, serve their purpose, then change color in the autumn of their life and fall to the ground, possibly to be blown away by the wind or raked up, bagged, and thrown out with the trash. One mans trash is another mans treasure. If we are all in our own little worlds, who knows how that is gonna work out?

Sometimes we press the leaves and iron them with wax paper for keep sakes...I think these are what they call high school reunions...

More often than not, friendships that are supposed to be two-way streets end up being one way streets that dead end into a cul-de-sac...seems pretty cynical huh, but when was the last time somebody from your past contacted you totally out of the blue, not on facebook?