Facebook continues to be a puzzle to me. I have reconnected with friends from the past mostly through their finding me and asking to be friends. Funny thing though. I hadn't really given any of them much thought over the past 60 years and am attempting to understand why I would want a long-distance relationship with them, or vice versa. I now know they are padding their friend list in some sort of contest to see how many friends they can get to acknowledge them. You remember, she who dies with the most friends is....well, still dead, but has a huge, full funeral.

It is kind of fun to see daily, in some cases hourly, updates on Facebook friends, some are going to work, others are getting manicures, others hate their jobs, some are heading off to bed. The real interesting ones ask questions, like, "What do you think about Kraft Foods buying Cadbury Chocolates?" and "I'm heading to New York; where should I stay?" or, "What was with that dress Cher wore at the Golden Globes?" Teen-age friends post that they are bored or words from songs they are listening to or dialogues from movies they've seen.

Okay, I get it. It's all meaningless in the long run and connects me to people on a very superficial, materialistic way. I do get it. The one thing it does that keeps me updating and posting on Facebook is this. It helps me stay connected to those whose values and lifestyles are very different from my own. It keeps me informed about the 'real' world. It makes me realize that there is a lot of hopelessness in the world. And it is a forum to shine a little light, drop a little humor, and make someone's day a little brighter.

And that's what I think about it.