Everyone who is on Facebook, is probably a member of a Group, in any form or shape. So am I. I joined a couple of Navy related groups, in search of old mates i’ve sailed with, and am proud to say I found a couple of my old mateys back, in said Groups.
Today, I happened to come across a name I’d been looking to ‘hook up’ with for some time now. After addressing the person in a comment, he came back to me, stating he had no recollection of me whatsoever. He even thought I was a woman purely for the fact my partner’s name is Jan (which is a male name in Holland) but after some explanation, it all came back to him, and we got entangled in a conversation, well over 3 hours.
Whilst I was repairing a laptop, and prepping a salad for lovey, my buddy and me nattered away about all and everything. And, as the saying goes (roughly):
*********************************************************************************************
“When True mates don’t speak for a period, they don’t doubt their Friendship.
Real Buddies just pick up the thread where they left, how ever long ago this might be.
Those Mates understand that Life can be a busy thing but know you love them no less, regardless.”
*********************************************************************************************
Having dealt with the compulsory introductions, or rather, recollection period, we headed into a convo, filled with Navy recollection and where we stand in Life nowadays. As I didn’t doubt for a minute, my mate hadn’t changed a bit, and I can only hope he felt the same way about me. He still made me cry with laughter, the way he used to when we sailed the Seven Seas.
In all fairness, whilst repairing a laptop, and preparing tea, I had a bit of a party going on, all by myself, with the best part of two bottles of wine and an online conversation with an old Buddy..
What’s the lesson learned here? Even though Facebook is constantly under fire for “breaking privacy laws/regulations”, a lot of people forget what it has actually brought us: a way to connect, or reconnect, with our past and lost friendships.
Needless to say, I also have my own Group, completely dedicated to reconnecting with my Family, many of whom I haven’t seen in 30 or more years but successfully reconnected with through the Group.
So what about Facebook using our pics? Admitted, if said pics aren’t fit for distribution to third parties, they shouldn’t use them. On the other side, why put them on a public social platform when they’re so dear to you..?
I for one applaud Mark Zuckerberg and all who are Facebook, as they’re reconnecting the world..
The Buddy mentioned above, he knows who he is! And the broken laptop got repaired, despite of the wine troubling my brain..
Cees' Blog 