The power of the blog

When I walked into the cafeteria at work today, my friend and co-worker, Peter asked me how my colonoscopy went. I looked at him quizzically. "How did  you know?" I asked. 
"You frickin' posted a blog about it on Facebook!" "Is nothing sacred, nothing off limits to you? Is your life truly an open book?" Peter is like that with me - very direct.

And, he had a point.

Later, as I spoke to my co-worker, Carol, she  asked me about Dr. Bartolone. OK, I may have mentioned his name to her. Then she wanted to know just how available he was ."How did you know he was available?"  I asked. "I read your blog this morning" she replied.

Oh.

I forget that I'm not just sending this blog out into the air. I guess there are consequences.
But, I'm not unhappy about this. Facebook especially has been so much fun. I've reconnected with old friends and can keep up with their news. Just today, an old friend tracked me down and wrote to me (very eloquently, by the way) of some distant memories (thanks, John). An incredibly sweet and generous woman in Greece, whom I had the pleasure of meeting a few years ago, now converses with me on a regular basis. That's a friendship that probably would've just faded  prior to Facebook, but with the Internet, we can continue to connect.  And a couple of weeks ago, an old high school friend and I reconnected and...  she's coming to visit me in May!

People are so afraid of the cyber world - especially when it comes to publishing personal information. I get that. Especially when it comes to identity theft. And, I guess I'm taking a chance. But, so far I've had nothing but enjoyment from this medium.

I've even connected with some of Bill's pals because he re-posts my blog on his Facebook site. That's really cool, too. It makes me happy that I'm giving them a glimpse of a Bill that they probably don't know...even though they may have known him since childhood.

And, the unintended consequence is that by publishing things about Bill and what he means to me, has made me love him even more. That's powerful stuff.