Discerning Facebook Friends

Shades of Shakespeare!  To friend, or not to friend — that is the question.  And here is another one:  Do you know who your Facebook friends are?

I, like other Facebook patrons, get a number of friend requests, but I am careful about which friends I accept. My apprehension is reinforced when I read articles like Bianca Bosker’s Do I Know You? Fake Friends Adding Fresh Danger to Facebook.  The Huffington Post reporter’s story reinforces my mistrust of strangers — on and off line — and confirms what most of us know, that you must be careful who you friend.

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Until Divorce Do Us Part

“In Hollywood a marriage is a success if it outlasts milk.” ~Rita Rudner

Am I missing something?  Why all of the hoopla over the Tom Cruise, Katie Holmes divorce? Ever since People magazine reported the story two weeks ago, the Cruise-Holmes divorce has received more press than sharply creased pants.

First, we learn about the couple’s divorce. Days later, we hear how quickly and amicably they settled. Meanwhile, we are fed other issues about the possibility that Cruise’s Scientology religion factored in the divorce; that Holmes had lunch with Cruise’s ex-wife, Nicole Kidman; and other relevant – or irrelevant — details of the breakup, depending on your viewpoint. Am I the only one asking myself what’s the big deal? And does anyone really care?

Many celebrity marriages don’t last long enough for the ink to dry on the pre-nuptial agreement. Look at Pamela Anderson and Kid Rock – married for 5 months; or Kim Kardashian and Kris Humphries – 72 days, or Carmen Electra and Dennis Rodman – 9 Days.

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Good English, Bad Grammar, and Lifelong Learning

As loyal readers of this blog – all three of them – have reminded me, I haven’t posted anything here for nearly two months. While my sense of humor remains healthy, my excuses for inactivity on this site are lame. I could blame my failure to blog on the weather – too hot outside – but I can’t; because I work at home – under air conditioning – unless there is a power outage like the one that recently occurred. I cannot say that I lacked motivation and inspiration, because I didn’t and I don’t. Both qualities are fully functional, except upon occasion when they stall behind writer’s block. The honest explanation for my absence from this Boomers blog is that

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A Father’s Day Message for Real Fathers

Male parents don’t always get the attention on Father’s Day that mothers get on theirs. Nevertheless, many children, young and grown, who know and love their fathers acknowledge them with a card, a gift, a phone call or a visit. And those of us whose dads are no longer alive simply acknowledge them in pleasant memories.  

It used to be traditional for men to hand out cigars following the birth of  their baby, but considering today’s anti-smoking campaigns and the extenuating circumstances under which some children are born, I don’t think the celebratory cigar is handed out anymore. Still, expectant fathers eagerly anticipate their child’s birth and claim bragging rights. They take pride in showing off their newborn and anticipate the day when that smiling child looks up at him and says “Happy Father’s Day, daddy.”

Unfortunately, not all men who call themselves father earn that right.

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