Classmate bonds and birthdays

As mentioned before, Facebook adds huge dimensions to its members' lives. I've noticed in the past year that some folks use the social networking site simply to play games, featuring the Mafia or various renditions of farming. They do well at it too because we're always privy to announcements of success on the game front.

Others use it to advertise. Some are more subtle than others; in fact, some are downright geniuses at sprinkling in some advertising for their product/service along with the usual tales of mundane activities throughout the day.

The site serves as a great tool for insomniacs. If ya can't sleep, you can go to the computer at 3 a.m. and tell the world. Someone will be out there, either in a time zone eons of miles away or a few miles down the road, sitting at the computer screen agonizing over the same brand of sleeplessness.

My favorite aspect of Facebook is the connections and the daily updates about people I know and care about. Sometimes the information is trivial; sometimes not. Sometimes, Facebook friends share factoids eliciting concern from others. And, in some cases, they put out statements with just enough information to spark more questions.

"You're moving?" "Well, where are you moving?"

"Tell the whole story, please."

In other cases, the information just doesn't jive. I was at Willie and Debbie's house waiting for the Appliance Doctor to come and fix their dryer yesterday when I fired up my laptop and read some stuff on Facebook. Molly Klein, who lives just below Willie and Debbie, had a recent post, informing everyone that she was at Starbucks.

A few minutes later, I was out walking the dogs when I spotted Molly in their driveway, walking to her car. Knowing there's no Starbucks at Bottle Bay, I had to inquire.

"I thought you were at Starbucks," I said, holding back Border Collies who wanted to and eventually did jump all over Molly.

"I'm headed there now," she told me. Guess Molly wanted to stay ahead of the game, and I guess that some of the stuff we read from "five minutes ago" on Facebook isn't exactly in "real time."

Indeed, the site means many things to many people. One constant is the daily list of birthdays---today, tomorrow, Saturday, etc. Sometimes I notice them; sometimes I don't.

Yesterday, however, I noticed something I hadn't known in the past. My classmates, Janis Puzuhanich Clarke and Robin Melior Bernhardt, have birthdays on the same day---today, in fact. I knew their birthdays were close together, and I knew another classmate Andrea Balch Boyle was right in the mix, but the Facebook revelation of two birthdays in one day made me smile.

After all, Robin, Janis and I have kept fairly close track of each other the past year, not only through this blog but also on Facebook. It's been fun, and it was especially fun when Robin and I could track Janis in her month-long travels last summer with her three dogs from Palm Desert, through the Southwest, on to Montana, then Idaho and then down to the Columbia River where Robin lives.

We both had a fairly good idea when to expect her, and when she showed up, we each enjoyed a wonderful visit. I think the most special aspect of Facebook has been the renewal of classmate bonds. Next to family, and in some cases even more so, our classmates remain firmly planted in our hearts throughout our lives.

It's hard to explain exactly why except that we experienced so many similar stories and events while growing up. Many times we spent as much time with our classmates as we did with our own families. I got to know Robin in junior high when many of us Class of '65 members converged on the old junior high, now the Sandpoint Events Center.

And, Janis moved to Sandpoint during high school. The three of us ran with slightly different crowds, but our crowds blended in many arenas, and we were friends.

Of course, the classroom settings, where we all formed universal opinions about the teachers and some of us acted accordingly, provided colorful anecdotal reasons to bond for life. Same was true with noontime and hallway activities during all those years of attending junior high and high school together.

It's been 45 years since we all set off on our separate life journeys, coming together only during the reunions or occasional sightings around town. Still, that close bond holds strong. I believe in many cases, it has intensified as we've continued to live the chapters of our lives.

I think there's an unwritten appreciation for the fact that we were thrown into together so long ago to be carefully programmed for the future. When the future unfolded, often with unforseen and unwelcome challenges or with trends very foreign to anything we'd been trained to face, somehow we survived.

At this point in life, there's a sense of relief that we, once floundering young souls, have done all right in spite of whatever's been flung our way.

So, as classmates, we can rejoice in our individual successes because we all started in the same general setting, and though many of us are far apart in geography, we still share a myriad of common interests and loving respect. Hard to explain actually, but I know one thing for sure.

I appreciate my classmates, and I consider them extended family. So, to George in Maryland who sent an update letter on his life happenings a few days ago, and to Robin, Janis and Andrea, who all celebrate birthdays this week, I wish you the best and send you my love.

And, now it's time to check out the latest Facebook revelations.