I was an editor of a newsletter in the mid-80’s and to increase interest and readership (and just for fun) I asked people to submit answers to about 8 or 10 mundane questions like their favorite actors and singers and food, etc. For ten issues in a row I published five of these submittals, which accomplished what I had intended, that is, lots of feedback and some controversy. People seemed to like revealing something about themselves and some even found it challenging enough to add some wit to their answers, beyond the basic questions.
You no doubt noticed as we entered the computer age, in the mid-90’s, how we were bombarded by e-mail list-makers (“what’s your favorite color”) which seemed to get more personal as time wore on. Now Facebook has hit the airwaves with “25 Random Things About Me” that is supposed to be limited to stuff your friends and family don’t know about; which is almost impossible, of course, if you’ve already thrown open every closet door in your misspent life. But who am I not to pick up this gauntlet?
Limiting oneself to 25, and also trying not to let perceived cleverness overcome the basic rules, is difficult. I’ve thrown out stuff like “I don’t pet the sweaty stuff” and how I feel about the beauty of snow just because it’s falling outside my window right now. My friend Bernardo said a list like this should at least expose some vulnerability beneath the narcissism so, although I basically agree with a quote of a quote that “spilling one’s guts is as attractive as it sounds;” I’m forging ahead:
1. I am liking this bowling
2. A lot of food I like ends in a vowel (this does NOT include Chinese)
3. I feel strangely euphoric after eating a good grilled cheese sandwich
4. I regret a few one-night stands but only because they stayed that way
5. Once in a while I will go into a funk because a generation of potential friends and/or soulmates disappeared in the 70’s and 80’s
6. I can never quite understand how women or gay men can be Republicans
7. I sometimes feel hypocritical because I tolerate the religious zeal of others
8. I think I look better now than I did 20 years ago
9. I want to be cremated but not anytime soon
10. I probably should have a cat
11. Snorkeling is still a joy
12. Being on a beach is still a joy
13. Gardening is still a joy
14. Although not a naturist,
per se, I do like clothing-optional venues
15. Although I am good at paying my bills on time I am bad with the filing
16. I probably rely too much on the
New York Times in forming my opinions about every goddamn thing
17. I am guilty of picking my nose while driving
18. I am fairly convinced that most of the folks-in-charge are motivated by greed
19. I love living in New York City but miss San Francisco
20. I still want to visit Australia and the Galapagos Islands
21. I am confused that it seems acceptable to young consumers that computers have a shelf life of less than two or three years
22. I like wall samplers and wonder if someone stitches them to order
23. I wish Trader Joe’s would stock cranberry circles again
24. I am ambivalent about what The Establishment thinks is art as opposed to what I think is art
25. I am wondering if Facebook is a valid outlet for anything worthwhile or just a total “time suck”
I somehow lasted over three weeks on Facebook. I built up my “friends” list to 18 before the clutter got to be too much for me. Too many entries similar to “…is going to the cleaners to pick up my shirts” and I began to suspect Facebook was not my cuppa. It could be that I’m just too much of an egotist to like being just one more person on someone’s list of hundreds of “friends”…and, of course, the thousands represented exponentially. Or tens of thousands. Or more. I read that as of last week there are now 175 million people with Facebook accounts publishing the minutiae of their lives and as a result my infinitesimal self suffered accordingly. On Monday of this week I grandly hit the delete button and a weight lifted from my already sloping shoulders. I apologize to the 18 friends I once had (and the hundreds on the lists of their friends) but I’ll try to make it up to everyone the next time I go to the cleaners…by not telling them about it.
