thoughts on social networking and being in touch

On this day last year in the late afternoon, we were in the Toronto airport waiting for our Air Canada flight to Rome. It doesn't seem possible that it was just a year ago that we started on that six-week adventure through Europe. Every day for the next six weeks will be marked with the memories of that trip. It'll be 'today we were in ... ' every day. No worries, I don't think I'll post every day, but it will be on my mind.

Lately I've been posting to FB regularly and sending emails to friends. I like keeping in touch, even if it's just reaching out to friends and not being sure they'll care. It's kind of like reading the paper when you're with someone and calling out articles to each other or, of course, just sitting an yakking about life in general. I like it when people respond. The surprise of who reacts and how is fun. 

We live in such a big world. Thanks to social networking, we are not only surrounded by a big world, we have a big world ourselves. We have friends visiting and living in many places around the world and the country, some that we haven't seen for years. And yet, we can keep in touch. 

None of it is as personal as face-to-face because who wants to risk the world knowing our personal stuff? But it's at least small talk and a way to make contact--to affirm that we are all still here. In touch--even the phrase suggests the familiarity of touching. 

Blogging seems to me to be like letter writing was when long-distance calling was expensive and there was no internet. It amazes me that there are millions of people who can't imagine life without the internet or cell phones or even remote controls. I was in my forties before I had my first Mac. I think there were Wang word processing systems at work for while before that. And that world wasn't primitive to us. It was our modern world.

Here's a photo of me in the airport after our February trip to southern California. We had such a good time there, except the two days we were sick. We were with friends face-to-face--and there's nothing better than that. 

So here's to being in touch, no matter how you do it.