Friends

Back in the day Shalamar served us up a whole plateful of disco jollies, and in 1982 released the Friends album. This was a real piece of vinyl, or cassette, not some mirrored scratched CD or the ethereal intangible digital download. I myself made friends with the cassette, and it happily went with me on my travels with my Walkman. Not that I had an actual Walkman, mind you. Being rather unfashionable until at least 1983, I opted for a cheaper Dixons nowhere near equivalent. Off I bopped into the sunset with my fellow schoolfriends dreaming of the real thing.....

Press FF 30 years and both friends and music can be virtual. With a wealth  of shared experiences that thread people together. Instant messaging and chat options, horrifyingly now considered the norm, stretch out conversations to days, even weeks, all prompted by the red flag of excitement that appears and demands an instant response. Like an aggressive child, this notification (in red, to enhance it’s importance)stamps it’s feet and cries out to be attended to NOW, lest the beast grows angry.

I recently encountered a new phenomenon, the strange experience of being “unfriended”. I didn’t notice at first, not being very good with numbers. You should see me wielding a 4 about, makes a terrible mess.

After a while I realised someone was missing, but failed to recall who it was. Who might I have offended? Who would take exception to my odd humour?

I wracked my mind, and literally spent 7 minutes reasoning with myself and the FB friend list.

Finally I found them, or rather did not find them, for they were absent. This was most peculiar, as their partner was online as usual, posting, liking, and commenting on my recent posts.

My mind considered the correct social networking etiquette. What was the right response to this apparent effrontery? Should I send a message to my erstwhile friend, or perhaps post on their partners timeline? That might be worse and upset them both, I reasoned. What a dilemma.....

                                                                     ?

 Eventually a message was sent, but no notification bounced back. The minutes turned to hours, then later that day, the next day, and into infinity and beyond, but it seemed that the end of the tape had been reached.

But then a message appeared, just like a cassette on auto reverse…and there it is!  All the paranoia and conspiracy theories were unfounded. My friend (and yes they are a tangible entity, and we have spent many nights wassailing and carousing in the past) had deleted their FB account due to a suspected hacking. What a relief, it wasn't me......

Unhindered by doubt, our virtual lives continue apace, mutually  liking and commenting, posting cat pictures with a witty refrain.

Has this anything to do with my impending surgery this week? No. However I might consider “friending” the surgical team, and “liking” my leg so that I can get constant updates of the procedure through facebook.