I “LIKE” YOUR LAMENT! Well, my confidence was mangled yesterday during a conversation with my Grandsons, Steve and Rob. As I was writing my Lament, Rob said to me, “I like your Lament, Grandpa, I read it everyday.” That was nice, and I said so. Steve joined in. “I read it too, Grandpa.... well, I skim it and then hit “like” so you won’t feel bad.” Crushed. Mashed. Trampled on, says the Thesaurus. Add on - shattered, and knock the stuffing out. The kid hit “like” and had only skimmed it! Who would do that? Out of somewhere, probably Sue’s thoughts spoken aloud, “Well, you do.” I opened my mouth to protest but realized it was true. Sometime I click “like,” so the person posting on Facebook will know (or believe) I approve or think highly of their writings, photos, humor, or poetry. This is not to say it’s not true, nor that I’m being dishonest, it’s just there are SO MANY posts to read, not enough time to read them all, and still watch “Law and Order.” Sometimes I postpone watching a video I “like”, planning to go back and see it at a later time, only to discover after scrolling down for ten minutes, I can’t find it, or worse, don’t remember who posted it. What does that say? I suspect it says something about our times, and also about my age. We live in such a hectic time, pulled on all sides with legitimate needs and demands, we postpone, re-strategize, and often just forget our good intentions. Our neighbor’s house was hit by lightning three months ago, and I’ve planned on getting over there to see how they’re doing, only to discover they haven’t been living in their house all summer. How’s that for knowing what’s going on, and responding to need? The old quote” The road to hell is paved with good intentions,” is more than appropriate here. In our Rotary Club, (No, I’m a democrat) I find it easier to care, because the “community” is present. When I walk in, I see my friend who is going through some pain, and a colleague undergoing chemo. Immediately, I talk to them, find out how things are, and offer a word of support. The need is there and easy to touch; I don’t have to walk down the block. Perhaps we just have to be “good” where we are at the moment, and that’s as much caring as we can do. Maybe hitting “like,” if only to let the person know for three seconds we thought about him/her, can be a blessing. No, I’m not offering an excuse for being lazy, or forgetful of others, I’m simply stating a truth about how things are for many of us. I have to say I know a lot of folks who do so very much for others. They are not sideswiped by distractions that may catch some of us, rather they fight to put their caring into action, and lighten the burdens others are carrying. My hat is off to those folks, big time. And I know many of you are exactly like that - non stop caring. My Lament for tonight is for those of us who hit ‘Like” too easily and just move on to the next site. We don’t even comment, which, if we did, is a way to put some tiny bit of caring into the fingers. My Lament is also for those of us whose age has brought us to the point where we forget why we opened the refrigerator door, or looked in the closet. Now there’s a real “unlike.”
Posted on: Thu, 07 Aug 2014 23:33:04 +0000