Facebook

Kelvin posted on Facebook, "Watching cartoons, never realized how many jokes were meant for grownups."

"Welcome to adulthood" I commented, "Never understood why my father thought the Flintstones were so funny."

And then Kelvin replied something about the Flintstones and the post moved into history.

The only thing that separates me and Kelvin is 35 years.Kelvin just completed his second decade- I am well into my sixth. What do we have in common? We spent four years together at this little secondary
school in the corner of a big city. And now we are Facebook friends.

I know there is a big debate whether to friend students, former or current. I had a former principal who was so techno-phobic and neurotic in general that she sent out hard copy letters to not give parents your work email because it might lead to them finding out your address. Okay- it didn't make sense to me either but- hey- when you are working for someone who is really paranoid-little does.

But for a while there -we were a real community in the little corner of the big city and we became friends, people in their second decade of life and people in all the succeeding ones- up to me in my sixth.

When the local news did a story about Teachers sending creepy sexual content to students on Facebook every man on the street interviewed responded with shock but no news story was done about the day Jasmine wrote that life wasn't worth living on Facebook and five us responded – what could we do?- we cared. It wasn't shocking.

So am I happy I am Facebook friends with a young man from a different time and social sphere?

Maybe I'm just happy that somehow, somewhere our lives got to overlap for a little while.

Maybe I'm just happy I got to be his “friend”.