Another reason to love Facebook

I've mentioned before how much fun its been for me to reconnect with old high school friends and friends from past jobs on Facebook. Seeing old photos from 'back in the day' has really given me some good laughs! There was 1 photo of me and others at a friend's house and I have absolutely no recollection of ever being there, and this was NOT due to alcohol consumption either! Its been a lot of fun to see what paths everyone has followed.

Recently I was contacted by a woman who graduated 2 years ahead of me named Lisa. She and I were both in Concert Choir, which is the only (hazy) memory I have of her. But she remembered me with much more detail, and sent me the following message on Facebook:

"Hi Mark, I'm sure you won't remember me, but I was in Choir with you at Gar-Field. You know how some people just make an impression on you? Well, I remember how talented you were and recall listening to you play the piano. I think you and I were just starting to become friends when I graduated in 1980. Every time I come across a picture of you in a yearbook or something I think "What a nice guy, I wonder what became of him?". So, when I came across a picture of you on Lisa XXXX's Facebook page, I thought I'd just send you a note and say "Hi". Still playing music I hope? Lisa"

I was absolutely floored that I had made such an impression on her. As you can imagine, this completely made my day! So I wrote back to her:

"Lisa, I'm not surprised - I'm SHOCKED - that you remember me! I was a mere sophomore when you were a senior! That goodness for Facebook and how easy it makes finding old HS friends. Thanks SO much for the kind words about my talent. After you graduated I was in Dominants and Concert Choir my Junior and Senior years, and after HS tried my hand at a number of choral, barbershop, and jazz ensembles. I'm not currently singing in any groups but I have fun at karaoke once in a while. Thanks for taking the time to send the message above. It made my day! Mark"

So I feel sorry for those who despise Facebook or think its a security risk, because they are missing out on some good stuff! (BTW, Facebook lets you set security levels for who sees your info, and you can enter or withhold as much info as you like.)

So with this in mind, I'd like to challenge those of you with Facebook accounts to find a high school friend and send them a nice message. Tell them that they are one of the people you remember from high school. Tell them you remember that they won the spelling bee, science fair, or talent show. Tell them you always thought they were cool. Reach out to someone you remember from school and make their day! Then blog about it.

Crush du Jour: Marcel Da Mirz