The Wonders of MySpace

So it seems as if January is the month of finding old friends. This, of course, is thanks to MySpace, which I've recently discovered. I am not - contrary to popular belief - addicted to MySpace, though I do log on for a few minutes as often as I can to see if anything interesting has been added or shared. I've had a MySpace page for while now, but never did anything with it. I only started it because my sister, Hannah, has one and she loads pictures there and updates it relatively frequently. I think I made one so I could see some of her wedding pictures from last year. Anyway, sometime around Christmas - when I was off of work for a week - I logged on and started searching for friends. I found so many people I know, and many more that I used to know - it was amazing! I found Brian, who I knew from West Hartford, CT, who is now not only a medical doctor, but is back in school studying to be a lawyer! Yes, I did say doctor AND lawyer - he is a smart guy; let's not give him too much of an ego! (Sorry, Brian!) I found Cara, who is one of my best friends ever, though we don't keep in touch as often as I would like. She's recently gotten her PhD in Anthropology, so that means she's a doctor, too! I found Floyd, who I knew from Mystic who is also either studying medicine or has already gotten his degree. (How did I wind up with all these smart people for friends?) The most exciting thing for me, though, is that I found Gabrielle! Gabrielle and I were inseparable when we lived together in Grand Rapids, MI. I don't remember how we went our separate ways, I just know that we did and I've been searching for her for nearly 16 years! She was one of the best friends I ever had, and even though I do not look back fondly on the time I spent in Michigan, Gabrielle is definitely the highlight of my time there. Friends mean so much, and she certainly did. So I decided one day that I would just search, randomly, for her on MySpace and BAM! There she was. No fuss. No having to search through multiple people with the same name. She was just there! And though her profile was marked as private, and it took her nearly a month to respond to my friend request - we are now officially back in touch and I'm thrilled. I got an e-mail from her just yesterday and so even though I don't know what happened to her yet, I at least know that she's still alive and somewhere on the planet. I also got an e-mail from Gabrielle's boyfriend Jamie (x-boyfriend? x-husband? Don't know the story yet...), who I also knew when I lived in Michigan. He and Gabby are still in touch and I guess she gave him my e-mail address...so that was kind of neat, too! Anyway - I spent about 20 minutes this morning e-mailing Gabby about the last 16 years of my life and am now waiting to hear back form her on what she's been up to. It's funny how getting an e-mail from an old friend can make you feel all warm inside. I'm glad you're back, Gabby! I've missed you! TTFN JMS