Mo Facebook Fun!

 I'd be remiss if I didn't mention that Facebook is a 3rd world shithole of a site and that I, and millions of others, wish that there was a site like Facebook that wasn't like Facebook. 

With that out of the way, I'll tell you that I found another friend on FB! Or did I?

I was on a paint thread when I noticed the name of a guy I worked with in Memphis years ago. Mikey was alright. I had actually found his page a few years ago and was pleased to see that he had gone out on his own and into business for himself. He seemed to be doing OK. Now, I could have tried to friend him back then, but I have to say that our friendship was never that serious where we'd need to keep in touch like that. I could say that about hundreds of people I've worked with. My FB is mostly family- siblings and cousins that I've known all my life, with a few schoolmates and a few women who know other family members and like my posting. Also, several deceased family members that I just can't bring myself to part with. You probably get that. And truth be told, I prefer it on social media when someone friends me rather than me risking rejection from them. I'm only half serious about that. Anyway, I never felt the need to friend Mikey when I could check his page instead from time to time. 

What most people might not know about FB is that they are so fucked up in their algorithmic drive and their quest to have everybody in the goddamned world FB friends with everybody else, that they figure if you look somebody up, you should probably be friends with them because, why not? To that end, you likely show up on their "People You Might Know" line that is part of every damn page. Usually these are the neighbors of cousins or school friends that I have no business knowing in real life or imaginary life. It makes no practical sense whether you think about it or not. Because I would occasionally look at Mikey's page to see what he was up to, I bet Mikey noticed me as someone he might know. Maybe he wondered why I was spying and not friending. I don't know. 

But I saw him posting on that paint site and I thought I'd say 'Hey', in my own way. I post in my real name on FB. I figured he'd catch that and know what I meant when I posted "Jerry taught you well!" Jerry being quasi related to him and a former employer of ours. Twenty-four hours later he posted back: "Jerry who?" 

Seemed kind of a hostile tone. Maybe it was just me, but I expected that Mikey would add my name, plus Jerry, divide by a paint site and come up with me, his old coworker. I guess my math was wrong.

To be ferrer, maybe Mikey had long since forgotten my last name. I've known a lot of people in painting and restaurants- and known them pretty well- and I have no recollection of their last name. It happens. But I don't know. I posted the last name of the Jerry in question and then gave a perfunctory apology that I must have gotten the wrong Mikey. I knew I had the right one though. The right one, just maybe at the wrong time. You never know what is going on in someone's life and when it's going on. But I remember Jerry being pretty much of a jerk. Maybe Jerry had taught him well after all?