“…All Love is Around Us” ~ Ray LaMontagne

I out myself to the world and your mom: I love Facebook.

There, my people come out of the woodwork: erstwhile crushes, elementary schoolmates, a beloved professor, Michael Kang of The String Cheese Incident, never-met cousins.

We’ve found each other in the ‘e-lounge’ that is Facebook.

It’s my childhood heaven fantasy. As in, I die then wake to clouds, white clothes and faces of all the people I know/knew. And everyone’s joyful like the people in the last scene of “It’s A Wonderful Life”.

As a teenager I hand wrote flow charts in the Basic computer language, circa 1986. Suffice it to say, I’m awed that the cyber realm has matured to such size.

Seriously! It’s beyond my Neanderthal cave woman logic.

I was slow to this new worldwide web, and somewhat terrified of exposure. I dabbed my toes in MySpace, half-heartedly set up a WordPress blog. Then finally I inhaled and made a Facebook page, late 2007.

And something awoke: a flock of invitations arrived; ironically as my primary relationship battled stormy seas. And I cordially accepted, loving the distraction from the howl-at-the-moon sadness of my home life. 

By the summer of 2008 I’d achieved addict status.

Now I can’t recall my life before Facebook. Nor do I know whether or not I’ll withstand the side effects: scatter brain, poor grammar, computer body; lord knows what else.

And I still wonder if something is missed as we deepen in cyber realm. Does this mean we meet less in the person-to-person realm? Or maybe each enhances the other?

Old friend J wrote me last night after an awful quiet ten years.

I could hear his voice, see his smile, and feel myself the same way I felt long ago when we were in the same room together. While my imagination connected some dots, there was a lot of togetherness across so many miles.

Porn and manic media aside, the Internet grows its gardens. The small gifts social networking dons are just that, and may even bring sweet dreams to your night.

And when my desk time is done, I’ll still unplug, walk out my door and into the world.

This way we can feast on our friendships all the more.