I am fortunate in that I didn’t need to wait until my last dying breath before having my life flash before my eyes. I just had to sign up for Facebook. If you haven’t discovered this latest obsession, you simply must…unless, of course, you are in the Witness Protection Program or hiding from your past. Because believe me, with one simple click of the mouse, your entire life will come flooding forward.

At first, I signed up simply to connect with a couple of business acquaintances. But from that first “poke,” the doors were thrown open: friends from school, from earlier careers, from theatre companies…all popping up one by one, eager to reconnect. It only took a few days for hundreds of friends to find me, many I have not seen or heard from in decades. And now they are posting grade school photos, bringing up long-lost memories, and generally parading my past in front of me. It’s a kick, really. It’s been a joy to realize how many circles I have traveled in throughout my life.

Yet, I must say I am fascinated in this need to update your “status” at all hours of the day.

I believe my generation is picking up the younger generation’s uninhibited belief that every moment of our day is a milestone and should be shared with the world.

I have a wonderful, interesting life, but I’m pretty sure the fact that I am cleaning the toilet or inspecting the dog for ticks does not need its own declaration. (by the way, I never do either of those things!) But I’ll play along for now. Because I’m lucky that a great percentage of my friends are comedians and their status updates are hilarious.

If you have absolutely no idea what I am talking about, don’t be afraid. Facebook is fun. But you can always tell who is new to Facebook. They will throw hypothetical objects at you, subject you to quizzes and surveys, and poke and poke and poke. Then after about a week, all that fades and the questions begin. “How are you?” “Where are you?” “What are you?” I love it. And I love that at my age, I can finally answer those questions.

Jill Turnbow