Facebook: The Reality Show

Naw, I'm not talking about one of those goofy reality shows where people are caught on camera being their ugly sinful selves (and then we turn off the show and feel good that we aren't that bad, by comparison).  I'm talking about real life, and how an Old Dog gets saved on Facebook by a new friend, an out of state friend and an old buddy, in 12 minutes.  Just so happens, the Old Dog is .....me.

If you are as dependent as I am, both professionally and personally, on your computer (and who isn't?), you know that awful, sinking, pulse-racing feeling when ... your .... computer..... won't ...... work.  Black screen.  All that precious info hiding somewhere behind that black screen. 

Push the Power button.  After the 12th push of the Power button (kinda like pushing the already lit elevator button when you want it to come in a hurry) I tried CTRL/ALT/DEL buttons... once, twice, eight times.

Black screen.  Prayer to the God Who has fixed so very many things in my life.  Push Power button a 13th time. 

Black screen.  I text two friends who are incredibly intelligent about computers, asking for a recommendation of a good repair person.  And wait. 

Then the Idea strikes (and I can almost feel the warmth from a beam of light and hear an angelic chorus in the distance):  why not try asking for help on Facebook?  I did, and in less than 12 minutes a new friend who I have gotten to know on Facebook through a mutual friend, one of my long-time best friend's daughter-in-law from out of state and a close buddy who has walked through some of my darkest storms in life with me, all respond with advice. 

I now know to pop out and replace your battery when your laptop goes black, and I have the name and phone number of a professional who repairs computers quickly and inexpensively, for future reference.  Most of all, the alleviation of my anxiety was, as they say, priceless.  Twenty-seven minutes after I had texted my two computer expert friends, I texted them again to let them know all in life was good again.

Yes, I know, this may not seem like such a big deal.  But it was to me.  An hour and fifteen minutes after texting my two friends, with my anxiety growing on a Monday morning, it would have seemed like an even bigger deal.  Perhaps the biggest deal is that, only four months ago, it wouldn't have even occurred to me to use this social media tool to obtain a solution.

Yes, Old Dogs can learn New Tricks.

Thanks for sharing 133 seconds of your day,
Smitty