Facebook is our new collective memory…

I know I am getting old because I spend a lot time reflecting; looking backwards if you will.  My memory of certain days in the past is sketchy at best and I rely heavily on others with their sketchy memories to fill in the blanks for me…that’s where Facebook comes in.  It’s the new collective truth about the past.

Joe says the best times of our lives are behind us and he has fond memories of his childhood even though his occurred in Carnarsie of all places.  He liked the 50’s; I didn't.  It was a great family time for him and a bad one for me.  I prefer to live in the 60’s and a little bit of the 80’s in my reveries. 

I like all of the “remember when” references on Facebook.  It gives me a jolt to my memory and allows me the option of dredging up childhood memories that I choose to think about.  I also enjoy the “pile on” effect where lots of people add to the memory chain and refer to their own personal experiences.  I can picture the smiles on their faces as they comment on the sweet thoughts that they just shared with others.

Some people have fabulous collections of their past.  One friend, Luke, has an amazing history in pictures of his past and shares them willingly with everyone.  I envy his collection and I spend hours staring at the small black and white photographs to see the many faces of people I know, knew, and encountered in my past.  You can see the essence of who someone is in these early pictures; their smiles seem to always stay the same (or their lack thereof); the part in their hair; the people they are clinging to in the photo; is there a dog in the frame? What street are they standing on? What’s in the background?

The other day someone put a video of a parade online and I actually saw myself as a careless 14 year old marching down the street.  I barely recognized this young teen version of me and it seemed to catch me totally unawares.  Who was that girl?  Where is she today?  Is that me or is that some girl I don’t know… Did that girl really grow up to be me?

It’s difficult to say how much I resemble that 14 year old because that seems like another lifetime away from me.  I could see how haunted I looked in those days even though I was smiling faintly.  How I wish that I could be that 14 year old girl looking at my 60 year old picture today and drawing conclusions.  What would I see?  What would I think about this older woman?  What conclusions would I draw?  Oh Facebook, did you mean for these thoughts to occur or is this an accident of happenstance. Either way, thanks for sharing everyone; keep putting those pictures up so we can all see and remember what once was.