Social Media Pays Off

It's funny.  I'm a person who is a constant participant in social media (I dropped off Facebook to carve off more time, which I've just devoted to Twitter and this blog), but also a consistent critic of social media.  However, at times it pays unexpected and wonderful gifts.  A couple years ago, through I think the miracle of FB, I got back into contact with Bob Craigmile, one of my oldest friends. As is pretty well documented, I'm kind of a lousy friend.  Well, I'll cut myself some slack.  I'm one of those people who are a true blue friend, the one you can call at 3:00 in the morning to bury the body - or to take you to the airport (but we should still consider the body thing).  However, if I'm not in constant contact with the person I tend to get distracted and suddenly twenty years go by, which I guess makes me a citizen of the planet (he said, grasping for justifications to explain his failure as a human being).  In this case I was so incredibly happy to get a chance to talk to Bob again.  He's just a good, gentle soul, and talking to him I remembered immediately why we had been such great friends.  He has the appropriate musical taste and political views of a right thinking individual - that is, they agree with mine.  We ended up talking yesterday because Skype reminded me that it was his birthday (I guess this is one of the problems of my decision to get off FB for the year; I'm missing everyone's birthday) so I took the opportunity, through Skype messaging, to wish him a happy birthday, and this led to a nice chat.  I asked him how he was responding to turning 56 (as I've discussed, it didn't play well with me).  Bob said he was absolutely fine with it, but then he added that it's probably because he has a new girlfriend, at which I proposed that most problems of the world are cured or at least moderated by a new girlfriend.  Her name is Maura and, unfortunately, she has a PhD is English - and Bob foolishly forwarded her the link to my blog - which means that she'll probably get lots of amusement at my half-witted commentary on Proust (plus, I'll finally have to figure out how to use semi-colons; Bob and I went to a very bad high school, and it's sort of amazing we can function in the world). Bob had proposed that we get together for a concert last summer and I couldn't make it work.  Inshallah, we'll get together this year.  This is definitely a friendship that I need to work on.

And a picture that I shamelessly swiped from a Skype conversation we were having yesterday. My immediate comment, "When did she lose her sight?"  His response, "Always with the humor . . ."

Now that I know that Bob has read this post and will not be foolish enough (or bored enough) to return to it, I can go ahead and share a memory of him.  When he was a teenager he developed a heart murmur, and I can remember being really scared for him (as it turns out it took care of itself and he's perfectly fine).  I think it was the only time in my life, until recently, that I can remember really, truly, deeply praying.  I'm not talking about politely bowing your head in church even if you don't believe, but sincerely asking God for something.  I had almost convinced myself that I had confabulated that memory, but Bob confirmed my memory of his brief heart issue.