No, I'm not related to Mark Zuckerberg. Or even Justin Timberlake. But I love Facebook, and here's one of the reasons.
I received a message last week from the sister of a person who had been a good friend of mine in high school. It seems this person had been made aware of some of my articles in our local newspaper, and his sister had written to say he had mentioned me.
I instantly flashed back to 1981; the Stevie Nicks album "Bella Donna" had just come out, and this person had given it to me. I ended up wearing out the grooves, literally, and having to buy another copy of the album after I started college.
When you're my age -- and I am now closer to 50 than 40 -- some centers of your brain become more hypersensitive than others, I firmly believe. And the music center has to be one of those:
I hear "So Happy Together" and flash back to dancing my first baby, who is now 22, around the living room. "Unforgettable" was playing in the hospital hallway when I was laboring with my second child, so Natalie Cole makes makes me think of meeting my daughter. I associate other songs with my husband, my friend Jane, my dad's illness ... the list is endless.
So when I heard from my friend's sister on Facebook, I found my Bella Donna album -- now a CD download from iTunes -- and I spent a while in 1981, remembering a young boy who had known me well enough to purchase what would end up being the soundtrack to my next few years. If not for Facebook, I don't know how his sister would have found me, and I wouldn't have been given a mini-vacation back in time.
The last time I checked, TV sure doesn't bring you "Edge of Seventeen" when you're on the edge of 30 years past that and in need of a warm memory. I'll keep the Facebook habit.
i have re-connected with many people because of facebook, too. it's a good thing.
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