Social Networking

When I grew up we would often visit my father's aunts and uncles on their farms after church on Sundays. Dad would be sure that we'd arrive in time to help with the chores (we were young enough to think that was fun) and then we'd wash up for a good old farm meal with more varieties of fresh vegetables than you'd see at the grocery store, and a yummy dessert that was promised to us once we cleared our plates. After dinner the women-folk would begin the dishes, the kids would turn on "Lassie" and my dad would head out on the porch for some farm talk with one of his uncles. Often times I'd sneak out to the porch and listen to the news they shared of the pig prices and new calfs; who bought a new tractor and who's selling out; how well this year's harvest was and what's going in the fields the next year; which farm family is doing well and which one is struggling. This was his link to the community of farmers that he'd grown up with. I think Dad really missed that link, and Sunday was the day that he got his "farm fix."

Dad left the farm shortly before he met my mother and they purchased a home nearby the manufacturing company that he worked for. If he needed assistance with something at the house he'd call up one of his relatives and they'd soon arrive with the perfect tool or someone that they knew who could handle the repair. That was his network -- the farm community.

Thanks in part to my daughter, this is my network: Blogging, Facebook, and Goodreads. I've reconnected with school friends, gleamed strength from their encouragement, and followed others through their journeys. I've had the opportunity to watch my nephew grow through pictures and comments made on his mother's FB page; I've met new friends and learned more about my current friends. So, one could say that my Blog, FB, and Goodreads have become the 'porch' to my community.

Before Christmas I received an email from a man in Scotland who had read the reviews I'd written for the Friends of Plum and Pilot Islands newsletter. He'd noticed that I'd read books of his contemporaries and asked if I'd review his self-published book. Well, of course I accepted the challenge, not thinking that he'd actually send it! I was quite surprised when it arrived and I eagerly read the memories he wrote of being a lighthouse keeper on the lights of Scotland. The book was wonderful, other than some grammatical errors that he's in the process of correcting. So, think of it . . . here's this keeper in Scotland that connects via social networking to little old me in Wisconsin -- how cool is that?? I now have a 'friend' in Scotland that thinks my life in Wisconsin is quite interesting.

So, as Dad pursued his social network out on the porch, I'm pursuing mine -- on the computer. Come to think of it, thanks to my wireless router I could be sitting on the porch too . . . when it warms up!