I've been wanting to write a post about Facebook for several weeks now, and finally have decided, I just need to do it. I am a relatively new facebooker, having been doing it now for only 2 or 3 years, as opposed to my kids, who have been facebooking almost all their adult lives.
My husband had a Facebook less than a month before he in frustration, deleted it forever. He said he could not deal with first of all, people wanting to be his FB friend, when in real life, they hadn't spoken to him in years, and if for some reason, they would have spoken to him, it would be a short conversation and once you catch up, that's it. Secondly, he had no defense against the "minutia" of information people posted, and found it hard to understand why they thought he would be interested in knowing that they took their dog to the vet, went to the store, trimmed their toenails, or killed a spider in their house. He was assaulted with posts from games people were playing and although he blocked them, found it was an ongoing battle he just didn't want to fight. Thirdly, he rarely statused because, well, he's just sort of a private person. He doesn't feel the need to tell people he found a good deal on toilet paper or had a flat tire, or threw up his lunch, or whatever.
In so many ways, Facebook has had a gigantic impact on our personal lives, and in our culture. We post our political and religious opinions, we share articles and videos we find interesting, we comment on others' posts, and we basically, open our lives to those we choose to be friends with, whether they are truly "friends" or not. My social world has expanded - I am familiar with friends other people are friends with just because of the comments they make on mutual friends' walls. From today's posts, I know that: Robert likes "Facing the Giants" movie, that Charles has friended two people I don't know, that my son Dan wants tacos for lunch, that my niece is seeing a 1:00 show, that a school friend is garage saling today and another friend is scrapbooking. That's just from this morning and I only have a moderate amount of friends. Our family uses Facebook to send messages and invitations, and, we have a reunion facebook page set up where information is posted that is beneficial to all who are coming. Overall, I don't object to that, and in fact, I have invited those statuses to be a part of my life because I have ageed to have a Facebook account.
What's not to like? Well, here's something that knocks me for a loop from time to time: A status or opinion which is posted, and which quickly turns into a spirited discussion, which quickly turns into people misunderstanding what someone has posted, which quickly turns into people arguing with each other, and from there, we have people verbally assaulting one another. I've participated in many civil discussions on facebook, and some not so civil. Participants are much more likely to respond quickly by typing and in doing so, will write things they might not normally say face to face. I think people are much more careful about what they say and how they say it when they are actually looking at another human being in the room, however, this is changing rapidly. People are now living Facebook real lives, and I'll explain more in the next post.
In the meantime, I solict your opinons - how do you feel Facebook has benefited our lives in a postive way, and how has it negatively impacted you, or society as a whole?
Thursday, July 21, 2011
Saturday, July 16, 2011
Friends
Today I went out to get the birdfeeders and fill the birdbath. As I reached to put the one back that hangs in a tree, a little sparrow fluttered within a couple of feet of my arm, as if to say, come on! We've been starving for days now! Although this "hobby" can be expensive, I have a budget - otherwise, I'd fill them every couple of days and my WalMart bill would be much larger. I enjoy doing this - I like seeing the different kinds of birds that come. Mostly they are common ordinary sparrows and finches, but every once in awhile, I'll see a bluejay, mourning doves, or an orangeish sort of bird I can't identify.
My lovely daughter in law has this bird feeding thing down to a science. She made her own squirrel-proof pole, set it in her yard, and from it, hangs several feeders, all of which frustrate the squirrels that live there. She saw a problem, she came up with a solution, and she implemented it - Why do I think this is a trait sorely missed in our politicians today.... But alas, I digress.
My bird friends like me because I feed them - and they hang around for that reason. Real friends - now that takes effort to accomplish. I had lunch with a friend yesterday, and after a mixup about waiting for each other (we were both seated in the same restaurant waiting for each other and never saw one another until I texted her and said, "Where U at?"), we had a nice lunch and took up 2 hours sitting there there chatting. I treasure these friendships, both of the bird and people variety.
How can I write about friends and not include the one who follows me around all day, even if I'm in the house and walking from room to room, who costs me vet trips and allergy shots, and, who provides companionship, who is a walking partner when it's not hot, and makes me laugh - oh yeah, that's Lydia, my friend of canine persuasion.
I'm also blessed to call my adult kids and their spouses "friends" in some sense, and my siblings - well I know that if I ever needed anything, these friends would instantly help.
I'm happy to tell you though, that my spouse is really my best friend. From feathered, to furry to human - I am blessed.
My lovely daughter in law has this bird feeding thing down to a science. She made her own squirrel-proof pole, set it in her yard, and from it, hangs several feeders, all of which frustrate the squirrels that live there. She saw a problem, she came up with a solution, and she implemented it - Why do I think this is a trait sorely missed in our politicians today.... But alas, I digress.
My bird friends like me because I feed them - and they hang around for that reason. Real friends - now that takes effort to accomplish. I had lunch with a friend yesterday, and after a mixup about waiting for each other (we were both seated in the same restaurant waiting for each other and never saw one another until I texted her and said, "Where U at?"), we had a nice lunch and took up 2 hours sitting there there chatting. I treasure these friendships, both of the bird and people variety.
How can I write about friends and not include the one who follows me around all day, even if I'm in the house and walking from room to room, who costs me vet trips and allergy shots, and, who provides companionship, who is a walking partner when it's not hot, and makes me laugh - oh yeah, that's Lydia, my friend of canine persuasion.
I'm also blessed to call my adult kids and their spouses "friends" in some sense, and my siblings - well I know that if I ever needed anything, these friends would instantly help.
I'm happy to tell you though, that my spouse is really my best friend. From feathered, to furry to human - I am blessed.
Monday, July 11, 2011
Summer of 1980 Remembrances
So, how's it going? I hope the few of you who read this blog are doing ok, even in the extreme heat we are "enjoying" here in S Central Kansas. Some are comparing this summer to that of 1980 - here's some info about it:
Sweltering heat took a long, unwelcome vacation in Kansas during the summer of 1980. The blistering heat arrived with a vengeance on June 24th when the mercury soared to 103 degrees. Afternoon high temperatures broke the 100-degree barrier each day for the rest of the month, culminating in a monthly high of 110 degrees on the 30th. The nighttime provided very little in the way of relief as lows in the mid to upper 70s were prevalent during that one-week span. Little did anyone realize that the atmosphere was just getting "warmed up". During July, the heat wave hit full throttle when high temperatures cleared the 100-degree hurdle a staggering 24 out of 31 days, including an eighteen day stretch from the 3rd to the 20th. The 4th was, quite literally, hotter than a firecracker, when another 110-degree reading was achieved. The record heat reached a pinnacle on the 12th, when Wichitans baked in 112-degree temperatures. It appeared that the heat wave was losing its grip, when a cold front crossing the region on July 21st caused temperatures to "nosedive" back into the mid 90s with overnight lows dropping to near 60 degrees. Not so, as temperatures shot right back up into the 105-110 degree range from the 28th to the 21st. The heat wave that wouldn't die was entering its third month. The record heat didn't break stride as August took the baton and raced to a high of 110 degrees on the 1st. In fact, 11 of the first 13 days of August would see triple-digit highs. It was on the 14th that "the sizzling Summer of 1980" began to east its grip on Kansas, as temperatures settled back into more seasonal levels. However, it was too late, as 20 record high temperatures were set between June 24th and August 13th, all of which stand to this day. During the months of June and July, Wichita's Mid-Continent Airport only received 1.81 inches of rainfall, 0.47 inches of that was in July.
We had moved here from Ft Worth on July 1, with our firstborn baby daughter, who was born in April of that year. We had a nice apartment with some AC, but it was upstairs and it wasn't able to stay cool. The word "misery" comes to mind as I remember that summer. We had help to unpack our truck and haul all of our stuff up a flight of stairs and into our new home - but I recall lots of sweat and effort from those older people in our congregation who came to help us out. Oh, it was something else!
Sweltering heat took a long, unwelcome vacation in Kansas during the summer of 1980. The blistering heat arrived with a vengeance on June 24th when the mercury soared to 103 degrees. Afternoon high temperatures broke the 100-degree barrier each day for the rest of the month, culminating in a monthly high of 110 degrees on the 30th. The nighttime provided very little in the way of relief as lows in the mid to upper 70s were prevalent during that one-week span. Little did anyone realize that the atmosphere was just getting "warmed up". During July, the heat wave hit full throttle when high temperatures cleared the 100-degree hurdle a staggering 24 out of 31 days, including an eighteen day stretch from the 3rd to the 20th. The 4th was, quite literally, hotter than a firecracker, when another 110-degree reading was achieved. The record heat reached a pinnacle on the 12th, when Wichitans baked in 112-degree temperatures. It appeared that the heat wave was losing its grip, when a cold front crossing the region on July 21st caused temperatures to "nosedive" back into the mid 90s with overnight lows dropping to near 60 degrees. Not so, as temperatures shot right back up into the 105-110 degree range from the 28th to the 21st. The heat wave that wouldn't die was entering its third month. The record heat didn't break stride as August took the baton and raced to a high of 110 degrees on the 1st. In fact, 11 of the first 13 days of August would see triple-digit highs. It was on the 14th that "the sizzling Summer of 1980" began to east its grip on Kansas, as temperatures settled back into more seasonal levels. However, it was too late, as 20 record high temperatures were set between June 24th and August 13th, all of which stand to this day. During the months of June and July, Wichita's Mid-Continent Airport only received 1.81 inches of rainfall, 0.47 inches of that was in July.
We had moved here from Ft Worth on July 1, with our firstborn baby daughter, who was born in April of that year. We had a nice apartment with some AC, but it was upstairs and it wasn't able to stay cool. The word "misery" comes to mind as I remember that summer. We had help to unpack our truck and haul all of our stuff up a flight of stairs and into our new home - but I recall lots of sweat and effort from those older people in our congregation who came to help us out. Oh, it was something else!
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