As my "Friends" list grows and diversifies, I have had more than a few occasions to ponder something odd. As various people from different times in my life - high school, seminary, local folks, folks I've come to know through the internet, even some family - comment on this or that status update, I realize not only how rich and diverse are the people I have called "friend", or the people I have at least called "acquaintance", but that this kaleidoscope of difference, from people with whom I grew up but lost contact, only to reconnect all these years later to a few people who I came to know at what was the most emotionally and intellectually vital and stressful (yet wonderful for all that) time of my life (my time in seminary), to some whom I have yet to "meet", formally, yet have come to know at a much more sedate, quiet, thoughtful time in my life.
It's kind of weird, in other words, to have your oldest sister, a friend or two from high school, an old seminary pal, a member of Lisa's church, and a fellow blogger, all commenting on this or that status update. Yet, it also is an opportunity to see oneself through various lenses, crafted at different times in ones life. Those with whom I went to school, a few at least, I can honestly say I have memories stretching back to kindergarten. The folks with whom I went to seminary are, in many ways, the people whose memories I cherish most, because I often think I came alive, really came alive, when I started at Wesley Theological Seminary in September, 1990. Everything in my life I measure pre- or post-1990. Those four years (the three years I was a student, and the year I was a student's spouse) set the tone and tenor for the rest of my life, so much so that Lisa and I have already decided that, once she retires, we are finding a nice little place in DC and settling down there.
I always try to keep things light at Facebook. I do not talk about politics. I do not talk about religion (except mentioning that I go to church, my wife is a minister, etc.). It's about keeping touch with others, letting others know about your day, something funny, occasionally sad, that happened, and best of all (to me) reconnecting with people you once thought were lost for good to your past. Yet, it also offers an opportunity to reflect on just how interesting it would be to actually have a selection of these people sit and a room and chat.
Virtual Tin Cup
