Pondering Blogging and Neighbors

I decided last Saturday morning to try and post something every day on this blog.  This is day number seven.  A week isn't very long and yet it has sometimes been difficult, even in that short span, to come up with something new to write about each day.

When I first started the blog, on February 8, 2007, I resolved to post something every day for 30 days to establish the habit of blogging.  I missed very few days for the first year.  I guess part of my struggle with what to write each day is that over time since that beginning, I have posted (counting this one) 590 entries and it is very easy to be redundant.

This morning, one of the things that comes to mind is Facebook.  Earlier this morning I was having a Facebook chat with Hama, our guide when I went to Niger in 2009.  He is now working as a translator for a Children's Hospital in Niamey.  I also had a message through our graduating class group regarding plans for a reunion this summer.  Yesterday, I traded messages with a classmate that I haven't seen since our 10-year reunion -- which was more than a few years ago.  Also this morning, I exchanged comments with a friend who is passing through Boston and then wished a happy birthday to a musician friend who just got back from a tour.

When I stop and think about those things I marvel at the wonderful utilization of technology.  With a laptop computer, the Internet, and a social networking site like Facebook, the world is literally at my fingertips.  Yet, in many ways we are out of touch with the people next door.  It seems that it is easier to chat with a friend in Niger over the Internet than it is to walk over to the neighbor's house and say, "Hi!"  Just something to ponder......

Chris

Belonging to the Facebook Community

Facebook:
Re-connect the dots
Of times past
With friends
Not forgotten
Just neglected

Community:
A belonging
In times past
With friends
Now neglected
Or forgotten

Belonging:
Desired
But missed
Because friends
Forget
In our neglect

Is the cyber-age the answer to a lost art?
I don't think so.