so sad to see people get defenestrated like the departed Macka!

i have had a bit of trouble myself, on Facebook. I had to get off my account and start a new one with a false name after I stirred up a bit of angst from the gun lobby in America. Then I had to explain to my hundred or so fake friends that I was not a stranger at all, and on and on.

on my second attempt I kept it very straight, no irony, no sarcasm and no big lies. It just wasnt that much fun any more. By this time my wife was monitoring my account, and the extended family, conscious of my difficulties were jumping onto everything to stir up anger and profanity. There was more trouble brewing.

I am a bit prone to the black dog, and everyone elses family was so much happier and more successful than my own, or so it seemed! It made me depressed, so about a year ago I just shut it down and I have not looked at Facebook since. I rate it as a very good move, and recommend you to follow. I use the time freed up to work, read a couple of newspapers end to end, and think about things.

i am pretty sure most of you, like me, grew up before you could put a telephone in your pocket. My folks did not have a phone in the house. In an emergency I rode my bike to deliver a note. We got by very well, had lots of interaction with the neighbours, and the family. We read the paper on Saturdays and my Dad brought home topical news from the pub, where he spent the hour five til six coughing down a few beers with all comers.

later I realised that whilst my grandparents had a Phone, my grandmother did not quite get the technology. When it rang, she would shout out, hang on, Im just emptying the sink or whatever. At the end she would put the receiver on the handset, then move away whilst saying, good to talk, keep in touch, love to the kids and so on.

 In my immediate post Facebook phase I reverted to the 1950s, a very propitious era in my life. I began by buying a fountain pen and a writing block to write to family and friends. It was very time consuming but I felt the actual messages had more weight to them, because of the time involved, the stamp, the arduous international delivery, and the personal imprint, handwriting and so on.

i have in my files a letter that my father, now well deceased and long gone, wrote to congratulate me when I passed my university entrance exam in 1964. His flambouyant cursive writing style, his brief, grammatical and heartfelt message are the measure of the man.  My wife has similar correspondence from her mother. Alas, the present generation will have no part of us to remember us by. 

Go buy a good pen and send your kids a letter to remember you by.

RFG