Those darn social networks…
My friend Kim over at What Now? It’s a Matter of Inflection… wrote a very nice post yesterday about how much positive energy she’s gotten out of facebook. Keeping up with friends and family updates on facebook does seem to be of the ‘norm’ nowadays. At the risk of looking like a copycat, I’ve got to run with a prime example that coincides closely with her own post.
I have a rut routine in the morning. First I go straight for my little 7-day container of medicine, pretty much consisting of bp meds and vitamins, scoring either a diet coke or diet Dr. Pepper to down them. Then I’ll grab my iPhone, where I’ll quickly graze facebook and twitter to get any up-to-date news and make sure nobody died (seriously, I’ve found this kind of stuff out on there before). I’ve found I don’t need any rss feed on other news channels, since anything newsworthy will appear on either of these two social networks.
C’mon Bon… what’s your point??
Soooo – I wake up this morning to a facebook post by my 23-year old daughter that reads, “I hate hospitals. Ewwww.” Posted at approximately 0327 hours.
Instant panic. Of course, none of the comments posted afterward allude to what actually happened, which is par for the course. My fingers couldn’t text her fast enough this morning.
Why are you texting her, Bon – why not just call her? This is important, after all!!
Today’s generation of children do not answer their cell phone. Additionally, do not bother leaving them a voicemail. If you do prefer to waste your precious time leaving a voicemail, know that it will sit all alone in it’s inbox for years until tumbleweeds begin to float past it. Our kids today only want a written (short) text which they may respond to AT. THEIR. LEISURE. If you know all this beforehand, it’ll save you a lot of time and trouble. Unfortunately since I’m a first-generation parent of the current generation of kids – I’ve had to learn it all the hard way.
I didn’t receive any reply from my daughter until just now, 1104 hours in the morning. The golden text just arrived telling me she is fine, and it was her friend who had cut his hand wide open. While cutting an apple. At three in the morning. Of course, her phone died while waiting 4 hours in the ER, and since she didn’t go to bed until this morning she couldn’t hear Mum’s text! At least now I can finally sigh very loudly breathe easier knowing that she’s okay. You never stop worrying about your kids. I guess it’ll be the same at any age, 23 or 53.
In closing, I guess Kim and I won’t be closing down our facebook accounts anytime soon! I hope everyone out there enjoys a wonderful weekend. 🙂
Literary, literally
I was browsing through bookmarks yesterday and was surprised to find my ‘Letter to my Sixteen-Year-Old Self’ was still on the front page of the Simon and Schuster site. I realize this is because nothing else has been posted since they posted mine, but gotta admit – I still like seeing it…
©dearmebooks.com
Me: so uh, I’ve been wondering… could I act all crazy like some Hollywood dude is doing right now and get my writing noticed?
Voice of reality: *clearing throat* uhhh, no Bon – see, you have to be famous beforehand for that to work.
For sheer sheen entertainment purposes, I thought I’d share a copy of Charlie’s most recent tweet. I’ll have to say I’ve been enjoying the literary stance he’s taking…
Happy Friday, everyone!! 🙂
Recipe for Disaster
Another one has happened. A death, albeit a celebrity – at the hands of an automobile texting behind the wheel. Dr. Frank Ryan, a plastic surgeon to the stars, gained even further celebrity status when he controversially performed ten procedures in one single day on the reality series star Heidi Montag.
Dr. Ryan was driving along the Pacific Coast Highway immediately following a scenic hike with his beloved dog, Jill. He snapped the below picture of sweet Jill lying in the sand atop a cliff, as she gazed longingly towards the sea.
Twitter has become increasingly popular over the past few years, and Dr. Ryan seemed to have become as fond of it as I. Personally, I feel it’s the one social network in which you can share your thoughts with the rest of the world… without people yacking back at you. Rather, it doesn’t appear on your own page if they do – it dirties up their own.
Photo rights © http://twitter.com/drfrankryan
His tweet: “Border collie jill surveying the view from atop the sand dune”
The one thing I don’t understand is why he didn’t tweet the picture right upon taking it, instead of waiting until he was behind the wheel. His car veered off a PCH cliff, down a 20-foot embankment of rocks. Dr. Ryan was pronounced dead at the scene of the crash with the official cause of death being blunt head trauma. Amazingly enough, his dog Jill survived but she has serious injuries after being found in the ocean below. I can only imagine the heartbreak his poor Mother is feeling! Quoted as saying on his 50th birthday just last year, “Happy birthday dear.. birthday boy… our miracle baby. He’s been wonderful, and I hope he has a long life.”
Photo rights © http://www.tmz.com
I know this is a hard one to look at, but there could be worse. Some of us need to see the reality of our actions… because I know I did.
I’m ashamed to admit that texting while driving is something I myself used to do. Before all the hype and headlines about the dangers it brought, I did it. Trust me when I say I’m not proud of it, and have had a few very close calls resulting from this selfless and careless act. I can’t tell you exactly what it was that changed my whole outlook – maybe it was the close calls, maybe all the news headlines… or maybe it was that dreaded four-minute video that circulated around on facebook and elsewhere. Whatever the case is – I realize how very lucky I am.
Texting while driving can be life changing, and life taking. For yourself, and for others. We don’t need the celebrity status to deem ourselves invincible… we have the uncanny ability of feeling that all on our own!! Please don’t chance it.
Life of Bon 
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