To be perfectly honest, I sometimes really hate Facebook.  It takes too much time away from my primary focus – writing.  It's time-consuming and addictive.  Then add Twitter and YouTube and LinkedIn and several other social networking sites, and sometime I feel like I've been sucked into an electronic Internet black hole.

However, I really must admit that there are times when Facebook is an absolute joy.  I think this stems from either making new friends or finding old friends.

1) New Friends.  Indeed, through Thaddeus Osbert, I have discovered a bunch of really great people, who are interesting and add value to the online experience.  They don't rant and rave, or spout political rhetoric, or complain.  Instead, they share and support and give.  This makes the experience enjoyable.

2) Old Friends.  At first, many of my friends were already on Facebook and connecting with them didn't take much effort.  Keeping up with them, however, is a daily process and once you have over 2,000 friends, they can get lost through the cracks.  No matter what you may have been told, Facebook isn't easy and requires lots of time to keep track of everyone important.  I make mistakes all the time and it can be very frustrating.  Still, I do my best to stay in touch and support my friends through this window.

Finally, there's that moment when you discover a new old friend!  This just happened to me a few days ago.  I used the Facebook search function and found Michael Bodeen, a very dear and important friend when I was in high school, some 38 years ago.  What was more thrilling than finding Michael, was that he replied favorably to my email and we connected.  Now it's not like we're going to catch up on all those years overnight, but for me, it was a thrilling rediscovery of fond memories.  This is truly what Facebook does that is marvelous.  You have the opportunity, whether you pursue it or not, to reconnect, reacquaint yourse;f. and even repair some of those bridges burned long ago.  Believe me, it's worth the risk.

Now there are no promises that you'll find everyone.  In fact, I have quite a long list of people I'd like to find, but I'm enjoying the detective work and the positive responses far outweigh the negative.  I highly recommend at least trying.

So, here's to Michael Bodeen and all my other friends, old and new, on Facebook and Twitter and all the other social sites.  It's nice to know you and I only wish we could meet in person.  Until then, the electronic version will have to do.