@Clew64-less

I lost a friend yesterday.  Seriously.  No warning, no reasons, just basically a simple “Done with this account..” community tweet and that was it.  Code 404 poof.  He was  (from everything I can tell) an upright guy I had befriended on Twitter. But I have no idea who he is.

I’m a bit confusticated, truth be told, but I have nothing to aim it at yet.  Who am I to say it’s wrong to just up and leave Twitter for whatever reason, or to say anyone has to justify anything on Twitter?  After all (at least in my circles) we don’t even know each others’ names (heh, heh…. I do know at least one, but I digress).  It could be tempting to fall back on the “You don’t really know each other.  It’s all pretend. Can’t trust the internet” blah blah and forget about it, but I’m not feeling that at all.

True, we could be pretending, but from what I can tell we’re all too lazy to put that much work into lying day after day after day after day… so I’m going with we’re more genuine than fake.  Besides, I get encouragement from our Twitter kin of sorts as we help each other navigate our own particular potholes and bumps of the day, and that IS real. Mind you, we are a very diverse group politically, religiously, nationally, age-ally, etc-ally and some threads dip into testing the waters a bit, but the spirit of mutual respect always wins the day; or, at least, if not, we find some way to start talking about pie or something and all is forgiven. That’s what hobbits do. Twitter certainly isn’t the Green Dragon by any stretch, but it works more than not so long as we’re not too hasty to read too much into too little of each of those 144 character snapshot windows.  I think I’m safe in saying we all get that, and so I also like to think our little  community is strong.

Or it was.  And I think that’s it.  I’m mad because I wonder how did we lose someone like @Clew64?  Whoever he is, he is a real person, and I care about that real person even if he’s really a lady named Pamela Rudd. [That’s a bad example–crazy lady fired me.  She’s kinda like Dolores Unbridge. /shiver.  But who knows, maybe she’s changed?] Twitter means different things to different people, but his bugging out means enough to me that I find myself bothered.  Enough so that here I am sipping what used to be hot Earl Grey with a bit of honey in my new prize Chesterton mug typing another of the first 5 posts on this site I started months ago.

That’s a hint that you’re missed, @Clew64.  I hope all really is well.  You know were to find us.  Wish I knew how to find you.  Watch out for those thunderstorms they’re calling for on Tuesday.

And the rest of you Twitter peeps:  don’t ever underestimate the impact you have on my life and the lives of those you meet. Even if it’s only 144 characters at a time.

 

Ecclesiastes 4

⁹ Two are better than one; because they have a good reward for their labour. ¹⁰ For if they fall, the one will lift up his fellow: but woe to him that is alone when he falleth; for he hath not another to help him up. ¹¹ Again, if two lie together, then they have heat: but how can one be warm alone? ¹² And if one prevail against him, two shall withstand him; and a threefold cord is not quickly broken.