01 March 2009

If These Walls Could Talk



"To bear defeat with dignity, to accept criticism with poise, to receive honors with humility--these are marks of maturity and graciousness."
~William Arthur Ward~


Oh yeah, THEY CAN and THEY DO! If you haven't jumped on the Facebook bandwagon yet, what on earth are you waiting for? Forget the moon! This, my friends, is the giant leap for all mankind! *Rolling eyes*

Not so very long ago, I was a self-appointed "rebel without a facebook cause." I didn't "get it," nor did I want to! And since I have never had the "If you can't beat 'em, join 'em" mentality, I remained steadfast to my conviction that Facebook was silly and certainly not for me. Nosiree Bob! I was far more mature and sophisticated! *Yep...eyes still a'rollin'!*

After many pleas from friends, family and countrymen, I finally created a MySpace. I put all my love into the "designing" of my new "home away from home." I was so proud of it and couldn't hardly wait for visitors. There was just one problem (okay, a few); there was no one to "invade" my space. What good is my space without space invaders?! Where did everyone go? You know! All of the sudden MySpace was "like sooo last year!" I would post comments on friends spaces, only to have them answer (weeks later) with a comment back that went something like this. "Hey girl (ugh)! God, I never check my MySpace! Get a Facebook so we can chat it up!" But, but, I DON'T WANT A FACEBOOK! I want MySpace! I want people to enjoy visiting me. I have beautiful artwork, awesome music that I change frequently and all my friends in "top 10" order!

Day after day I fought the transition. I continued setting the mood with my music, dangling carrots in the form of mood status updates (e.g. "Robin is lonely") and ALWAYS leaving the light on! I felt like Linus sitting in the pumpkin patch waiting for the Great Pumpkin. *Big sigh* Blow out the candles, turn off the music, and pull the plug on the "Vacancy" sign. Clearly if you build it, they will not always come. *Note to self: "gas up"the computer and do Mapquest to Facebook*

Better late than never, I (never) say. "Pull into" Facebook expecting to find a wild party going on...HUGE disappointment! I sat staring at my graffiti-less wall and my blue silhouette against the white background (a "newbie," respectfully). I got up and made a pot of coffee because I planned on burning the midnight oil designing yet another "den of iniquity" for my social pleasure.

First things first, let's get rid of that silly silhouette (try saying that 3 times straight!) and post a real photo. There we go! One sip of coffee and I'm done with my "in your face-book!" There are no pretty backgrounds that accentuate your character. There are no music players that add background music to all life's ups and downs. Just a plain old page that separates me from NO ONE!! How will my "peeps" know how much I love Lucy or Lance Armstrong? How will anyone know how much I care about the homeless, the hungry and hot tamales? No one will ever know whether or not I "accepted the rose" or "lost that lovin' feeling." Eeeeegads!

Ho-hum, let's start "collecting" friends, at least. That's what you do on Facebook, you collect friends. Never mind if you like them or not, just add them to the collection. They are objects now; little icon faces that tell the world, "You've got a friend!" *James Taylor strumming the guitar* Let's see, I've collected about140 now and I actually know about 10 of them. They all seem genuinely sweet, however. Most of them are extremely courteous in that they let us know where they are and what they are doing at every flipping minute of the day! My day seems rather mundane compared to Dick, who is "going to cut the grass" or Jane who is "wishing she had a Facebook Friend with benefits and a vodka martini." "Note to Jane: Now, you will! Merry Christmas from your Facebook friend!*

All joking aside (but just for a minute) Facebook has been tons of fun. Had it not been for Facebook I would not have reconnected with old friends and been "stalked" by new ones. (Told ya it would only be a minute) I would not have the joy of "witnessing" old high school friends come together once again after many, many (okay, not so many) years. I think we can all agree that the "high school years" were often times painful for so many of us. It is refreshing to see everyone loving everyone, devoid of the hurtful cliques from younger days. No one seems to care that Dick has the personality of a throw pillow; we continue to comment on his stamp collecting photos just to show the love. We ALL care that Jane is an ignorant slut, but we overlook her imperfections because that's what friends are for.

I would trade my high school years for $20.00, but I would not take a million for the old friends that have waltzed back into my life as parents, grandparents, survivors and/or lovers of life. Each friend is a blessing and another brick in my wall. The lesson is not lost if the wisdom is put to use.

Peace out,
The Paper Whisperer

7 comments:

Unknown said...

Very well said, my friend!!!

Angie Ledbetter said...

Well, look what the blogging cat drug back in! Good to see you back on the blogwaves again. Nope, not trickin' me into opening a FaceBook SchmaceCrook. Don't need a single nother thing to pull me away from writing goals. :)

Unknown said...

I did so agree with you. I felt like I was wasting so much time, catching beads and sending flair.:) But ... I am not much of a phone person, so it did give me a way to sort of keep up with some people. I love that you are on facebook. It introduced me to your blog and others. My son and daughter are also part of this fad, so it helps me see what is up. Laura has since started a blog too. It is called Mommy Madness.

The Paper Whisperer said...

Thank you Susan, a.k.a. "FB Queen."

Oh Angie, you know I'll always come back, just never know how long I'll stay. I hear ya on the FB "schmacecrook!" In the meantime I'll continue keeping tabs on all three of your youngins', all of whom are my friends! LOL

Karen, I could never understand the whole "throwin' stuff!" What good is a piece of Key Lime pie if I CAN'T REALLY EAT IT?!!! But it's fun catching up with everyone, indeed!! Thanks for stopping by my blog.

Angie Ledbetter said...

PS...wouldn't my teen kidlets just HEART the fact that old Mom has a FB and can drop in and visit anytime? (Let me know if illegal substances or police are involved!) :)

Anonymous said...

I have and will continue to avoid facebook and myspace. I have been chastised on numerous occasions about invading someones space. If only they knew. Great post.(see, I have learned). Guess I am an old stick in the mud. Yeah, and proud of it. Ask our boys.
Welcome back.
Oren

Anonymous said...

My cousin and X practically begged me to jump onto the Facebook bandwagon. I finally leaped in kicking and screaming. I had checked out the MySpace site and was impressed with all the neat choices for decorating your page as well as musical background choices but never got into it. Actually, I was afraid of stalkers, losing my identity, etc. and quite frankly could care less what someone had for lunch. I am now very grateful that I finally jumped into the 21st century techno fad because I have met some wonderful new friends and reconnected with long lost friends and family. I am very thankful I made the choice to join FB because otherwise I would have never met Y O U and would have missed out on tons of blessings that you have brought into my life. You da bess girlfriend !!! xoxoxo