Living in the Plastic Age

I mentioned to Andrew last night how I keep reading C Jane's blog (check out the link button on my page) to read her take on life and also to keep up-to-date on the recovery of her brother-in-law and sister. They were in a private plane crash and are recovering from severe burns in Mesa, AZ. Part of me finds it odd that I care so deeply about the lives of people I have never met.

For as cynical as the world may seem and as impersonal as the Internet can be, it is possible to really connect through this cyber connection.

My friend, Toni, moved to Arizona in the Summer of 1989. Last winter she found me on MySpace and we've connected all over again. We haven't seen each other in 19 years, but we are a part of each others lives again and it's a great feeling.

I accidentally met my boy through MySpace as well. True, he could have been a crazy person, but he's not. (Perhaps, one day, I will drive him insane though.) Finding and knowing him has made my life so much better than I can tell you.

My cousin, Elizabeth, and I lost touch over the years. And then she moved to Pennsylvania. Through blogging and MySpace, we have become incredibly close again. The same goes for her sister and my cousin, Karen. I hadn't seen or talked to Karen for years and now we've become friends through this powerful medium. She and my friend Toni are also reading and linking to each other's blogs! How cyberific is that?

I guess the moral to this tale is that as disconnected as we may feel in this electronic age, we are as connected -- or possibly more connected -- than we ever were. We'll all capable of finding what we're looking for; we just have to use the right search engine.

(It's not Blogger Challenge, but my title is a song from The Buggles. In case you care.)