Curiosity kills the memory...

Still looking up people on Facebook. (Quite addictive, that Facebook thing.)  I told that very fact to my computer-wizard husband and he looked at me as if I'd just recently joined the 21st century.

I did some searches on ladies I worked with at the library up in NY.  I didn't find them on Facebook, but the Internet directed me to a site which had their names listed under 'Obituaries.' Good grief. Not at all what I expected to find. (Seek and ye shall find, whether ye want to or not.)

In this case, I didn't want to find their names there.  One woman passed away last year, barely into her 84th year. Another woman made it till nearly 90.  The most surprising, and the most heart-breaking, was learning that my 'wise old Greek' library supervisor passed away at 84 years of age, and was followed shortly thereafter by her husband (whom she married just a few years before she retired from the library).

My 'wise old Greek' was our Circulation Desk Supervisor at the library, and she was much loved. When she retired, I applied for, and got, her job. Following in E's footsteps wasn't the easiest thing I've ever had to do, particularly because there were other women in that library (all older than myself) who also wanted that position. An application and a written test were required.... I scored well on the exam..... I got the job. It must have been a tough pill to swallow for the other women who had been working there longer than me, but that's how the cookie crumbled at the time.

Finding people on Facebook, or any other Internet site, has its pros and cons.  In your mind's eye, you tend to remember everyone as they were the last time you saw them. As you picture them from years ago, your mind isn't conjuring up their image as their life may appear now.... gray hair, grandchildren, retirement, or (sorry to say) gone to that big library up in the sky.

One of E's favorite sayings was "Dance alone, and you can jump as high as you like."

We reminded her of those words when she announced to us all that during her two-week vacation, she and her long-time beau had "tied the knot."

"But what happened to all that stuff about dancing alone?!" we asked her.

"It's also nice to have someone there to catch you when you fall down," she told us.