Categories: community
Tags: ponderings
Date: 06 October 2009 08:47:35
I'm typing this on the gadget while being sat in a cafe in Shropshire and this is providing me an opportunity for highly entertained reflection which is challenging my expectations. Since the mrs moved to the same city I've been travelling by bus more again. The journeys have varied from being completely unexceptional to highly noteworthy. On our latest explore we overheard a story which would have seemed quite at home on Jeremy Kyle. The woman in question was in a deeply personal conversation with what appeared to be her ex and she was suggesting that he couldn't play happily families with her, their child... And the new gf! As the phone calls (plural) progressed prison was mentioned and reassurance that the person on the other end of the phone wouldn't be arrested. This seemed particularly ironic as it was barely mentioned before the bus took as past the prison. Neither of us seemed convinced this was the kind of conversation you'd want overheard but the whole bus surely knew the gory details. Unfortunately this wasn't an occasion where expectations. Nor for that matter was a bus journey interrupted by girls who'd evidently sat on springs. Their conversations were interspersed by mock fall outs and moving from one side of the bus to the other to avoid or join one another. Their conversations were suitably mundane but facebook was referenced more than once. The most recent experiences of facebook are those which have challenged by expectations more. From the random overheards, those noted while in this coffee shop will keep me entertained for a while. A couple of gentlemen on a neighbouring table were catching up when one of them remarked "I nipped onto iTunes to check out his music. Do you have any idea how many albums he released?" followed by a response of "no, but I popped onto YouTube to see some of his stuff". The conversation continued and later peels of laughter ensued in response to a comment about facebook posts. These guys were certainly on older side of the facebook generation being well into retirement. While this shouldn't surprise me it did but with great delight. I shouldn't be so cynical though. Facebook has it's uses above and beyond the normal. I "met" my step-sister's daughter this week as she was staying with my dad. Dad, the girl told me, was playing fb poker and his wife was watching x factor so the 7 year old had been encouraged to natter to me. Dad explained later that she'd done all the typing herself and would I mind offering to chat again because it helped her learn to spell. I can't say I'd ever imagined chatting to a 7 year old on facebook - I barely consider doing it *off* facebook! Horray for those things that open new doors and challenge expectations.