I’ve been reading Mitch Albom for years. Always enjoyed his stuff and look forward to the Sunday Free Press just to read his column. In todays column Mitch wrote of a number of things that he’d like to see happen in 2010. One of the lines he wrote was “Bye bye Facebook”. Well, if you know me at all, you know I just can’t sit and let that go without comment. I just sent an email to Mitch Albom about this and I’m just going to copy it here.
Hi Mitch,
First off, let me say, I'm a huge fan. I've enjoyed your writing for years and have written to you in the past. I even received a reply to an email I sent a few years ago and I found that to be very nice. I met you at a Best Buy a year ago this past summer and you were quite generous with your time as we spoke about that evenings "Police" concert. Again, I'm a big fan and read your column on a regular basis.
I feel the need to comment on today's column. I must say I agreed with all but one line. "Bye bye Facebook". I need to tell you, Facebook has changed my life only for the better and, if you have the time, I'd like to tell you how and why.
I grew up in the Detroit area and left Michigan in 1980. I lived in Southern Ca. for 25 years and, after my divorce, moved to Naples Florida. I was alone and had few friends, not being one to frequent bars and clubs, it's been a common theme throughout my life. After a couple years down there I decided to move back to Michigan to be closer to family.
After a number of months working in the homebuilding business I received an email from friend in Spain asking me to join her on Facebook. I did it just for laughs and we would converse on it every once in awhile. After a number of months I deactivated the account and thought nothing of it.
A short while after that I got an email from a friend saying they had been looking for me on Facebook and couldn't find me. I reactivated the account and connected with this friend. I then started looking for any name from my past and found many people from my high school that I hadn't seen since graduation. As the site grew more popular, the number of people from my past that I was in contact with grew with it.
Never having been one to go out much, I would always spend evenings home alone. Having reconnected with this group of people I began to socialize on a regular basis. Facebook is responsible for that. There is no way I would have been able to reconnect with all these people had it not been for this site. Just the other night I went to a New Years party at a friends house that I never even spoke to in high school but, again, because of Facebook we have become rather close friends.
My 30'th high school reunion was held this past November. Facebook, again, played a major role in not only getting everyone together but in keeping me in contact with all these people that I have developed a fondness for that I've felt for very few in my life. Again, without Facebook, none of this would have happened.
I've reconnected with a friend from my youth that moved to Australia, wouldn't have happened without Facebook. I go out for dinner on a regular basis with folks that I never would have found had it not been for Facebook. Suffice it to say Mitch, to paraphrase Chico Esquela, Facebook been bery bery good to me. I know of at least 200 others in my circle that would agree with me on that.
I stated at the beginning of this note that Facebook has changed my life. It has in so many ways with each being better than the other. I owe that kid that started this site more thanks than I could ever give. I owe him the debt of helping me find happiness in a life that always had a hard time locating it. No, Facebook isn't the only reason for said happiness, but it was the agent of change that encouraged it more than anything else and I will defend this site forever because of that.
Thank for listening Mitch,
Kevin Mittleman
Sunday, January 3, 2010
Saturday, January 2, 2010
Honey, I'm home!
Tried real hard not to write yesterday even though I felt this mad urge all day long. I’m a pretty nostalgic kind of guy and even though I went out a couple times with friends, all I kept thinking about was that last New Years day was not a very good day at all. It was the day that I woke up with the realization that my brother had cancer. I couldn’t possibly count the number of times I found myself getting chocked up at the remembrance of that day. Thankfully Steve survived the scare and everyone’s feeling good about the way things turned out.
So why try to avoid writing all day? I just felt that once I started writing about it I’d spend the entire day doing nothing but dwelling on it and making myself, yes, forcing myself, to be down. I just didn’t want to feel that bad all day. That’s what happens when I write about something that has made me sad or is in the process of it. I dig myself into this funk that, though I might argue makes my writing better, just keeps me in the doldrums for the entire day.
Even though I kept thinking about Steve and the events of a year ago, I kept myself busy enough to make sure it didn’t destroy the day. I ended up meeting a friend for breakfast, came home and napped on and off for a few hours, then met the same friend and another for dinner and a movie. We had originally planned on going to this animation festival but once I found that the admission didn’t include the $15.00 bar minimum I was sort of turned off by the event. I can’t imagine a time that I would find myself drinking $15.00 worth of alcohol.
I did have a number of rather random thoughts throughout the day. I’ve been finding that I can really make the day go much smoother when I don’t totally concentrate on whatever the subject is at hand. It’s a good thing that I’m able to multitask in that way. I can easily converse with friends over dinner while at the same time run a number of different thoughts through the filter. I’m even able to store something for later if I think it’s something I may feel the need to write about.
Throughout the day I kept finding myself heading towards one common theme in these random thoughts. I kept getting to the end of whatever the stream was and would find myself thinking that it was good to be here. By here I mean the whole package. I mean it was good that I was able to spend New Years Eve at a friend’s house with a number of other folks and not feel pressured to do anything. It wasn’t too crowded, or too loud. It was easy to jump into a conversation if I felt the need, and just as easy to pop right back out of said discussion without feeling guilty.
By here, I mean walking Lucky in this ridiculously biting wind that wouldn’t go away yesterday morning. I mean, here in the middle of a million snowflakes, as I run out to my friend’s car as we headed out to breakfast. This friend, being someone I’ve known since I was 11 years old and have probably had a similar ride, out to breakfast with him at least a hundred times.
By here, I mean going to dinner with these friends I’ve known forever and walking to the theater from the car and the only thought I could verbalize in the frozen air was, “Dang, it sure isn’t warm out here.” By here I mean coming home after the movie and getting online and chatting with a few friends that I’ve only begun to know in the last year or so. By here I mean home.
Yes home. I’m starting to feel a little comfortable in my skin for the first time in ages. It’s different but doable. I have to register my car on Monday and I’m switching from Florida to Michigan. I’m debating on whether to get a personalized plate or not. If I do get one I’ve been thinking about what it might say. I think I might see if “I’m Home” is available.
So why try to avoid writing all day? I just felt that once I started writing about it I’d spend the entire day doing nothing but dwelling on it and making myself, yes, forcing myself, to be down. I just didn’t want to feel that bad all day. That’s what happens when I write about something that has made me sad or is in the process of it. I dig myself into this funk that, though I might argue makes my writing better, just keeps me in the doldrums for the entire day.
Even though I kept thinking about Steve and the events of a year ago, I kept myself busy enough to make sure it didn’t destroy the day. I ended up meeting a friend for breakfast, came home and napped on and off for a few hours, then met the same friend and another for dinner and a movie. We had originally planned on going to this animation festival but once I found that the admission didn’t include the $15.00 bar minimum I was sort of turned off by the event. I can’t imagine a time that I would find myself drinking $15.00 worth of alcohol.
I did have a number of rather random thoughts throughout the day. I’ve been finding that I can really make the day go much smoother when I don’t totally concentrate on whatever the subject is at hand. It’s a good thing that I’m able to multitask in that way. I can easily converse with friends over dinner while at the same time run a number of different thoughts through the filter. I’m even able to store something for later if I think it’s something I may feel the need to write about.
Throughout the day I kept finding myself heading towards one common theme in these random thoughts. I kept getting to the end of whatever the stream was and would find myself thinking that it was good to be here. By here I mean the whole package. I mean it was good that I was able to spend New Years Eve at a friend’s house with a number of other folks and not feel pressured to do anything. It wasn’t too crowded, or too loud. It was easy to jump into a conversation if I felt the need, and just as easy to pop right back out of said discussion without feeling guilty.
By here, I mean walking Lucky in this ridiculously biting wind that wouldn’t go away yesterday morning. I mean, here in the middle of a million snowflakes, as I run out to my friend’s car as we headed out to breakfast. This friend, being someone I’ve known since I was 11 years old and have probably had a similar ride, out to breakfast with him at least a hundred times.
By here, I mean going to dinner with these friends I’ve known forever and walking to the theater from the car and the only thought I could verbalize in the frozen air was, “Dang, it sure isn’t warm out here.” By here I mean coming home after the movie and getting online and chatting with a few friends that I’ve only begun to know in the last year or so. By here I mean home.
Yes home. I’m starting to feel a little comfortable in my skin for the first time in ages. It’s different but doable. I have to register my car on Monday and I’m switching from Florida to Michigan. I’m debating on whether to get a personalized plate or not. If I do get one I’ve been thinking about what it might say. I think I might see if “I’m Home” is available.
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