Looking For The Good

I scroll Facebook far more than I should, and far more than is good for me. It’s a mindless habit most of the time. But a lot of people I care about are there, and especially now they are posting about their activities, their worries, their success, and much more. It’s a way I can still feel like I am a part of their life while we can’t be together. It’s also a stalking device, but I can hit that another time. Pandemics are hard.

There are a few people I have “snoozed” on Facebook in the past week or two. I still want to be their friend on the platform, but their posts have been a little too much as of late. A little too conspiracy based, too political, or just too much complaining about their kids being home and the trappings that go with it.

Now I get that having to adjust to working at home and having the kids around all the time is a big adjustment, but they are kids. Posting their every action that is annoying you is not fair. They do not have the same ability to censor themselves that adults do, and controlling their emotions is a work in progress that will continue throughout their lives. Home and school are two different worlds, and the behavior at the two is different. It should be. Putting home and school under one roof takes some time to adjust to, just as how you act at your place of employment is different than your behavior is at home. Be fair, but don’t air all of their stuff out there for everyone on the internet.

The conspiracy people are entertaining for about a minute. One, maybe two posts about it will suffice. I get it, you think this is a government plot to take things away from you. I know being told to wear a mask out in public bothers you, but 13 posts about it in an hour isn’t changing that store’s policy. Surely the chip they are injecting into all of us in our sleep won’t interfere with your TV reception all the time, just when they run the software update. I can’t remember who is running all of that, the GOP or the democrats, let me scroll back through your multiple posts about it and I will commit it to memory this time.

The conspiracy posts and the political ones overlap a lot, so they are hard to keep straight. But mostly as long as you are blaming one side over the other, take you pick which you subscribe to, I am over your stuff. Way over it. Guess what? Both sides have royally screwed the pooch on this one. Yep, plenty of blame to go around. So watch your FOX, CNN and keep an eye on Twitter, because there is something for everyone and a place to put the ultimate blame. Just know I likely won’t see it for 30 days because I snoozed you.

I am looking for the good stuff. The album challenges are great, people posting albums that influenced their musical taste for 10 days. Something to look forward to each day, and you find a few gems you may have forgotten. I also love the pages about dogs: We Rate Dogs, I’ve Pet That Dog, Thoughts of Dog. Everyday, these pages are posting pictures of dogs with cute little stories and more. I can’t speak knowledgably about cat pages, but I bet they exist too. John Krasinsky of “Jack Ryan” and “The Office” is doing little videos called “SGN” (Some Good News) and those videos make me ugly cry, in a good way. Check him out if you can. He is trying to get us through this, and for me, it’s working. My gym, FIRE Fitness, has a few different groups and pages that are keeping my spirits up too while we can’t actually hit the gym. There are some inspirational people I have met through that place, and they will keep me going until I can get in the door again. That’s sort of what brought me to “Looking For The Good” today. Coach Lynn challenged us to look for the good, if you know her you already found something good.

And I would be sorely lacking any good if I fail to mention the people posting the jokes, memes and silly stories and videos. My Forever Boyfriend, Rick Springfield, has been making videos about songwriting with Vance DeGeneres, and they are a hoot. I mentioned “SGN” with John Krasinsky above, that is so great it is worth mentioning again. He did a Prom for the class of 2020, this week he is working on a graduation thing, and he highlights Good News stories that people send in. It’s genuine and heartwarming. Charlie Behrens, he “Manitowoc Minute” guy has been posting awesome videos, for all of us Midwestern types, that hit us right in the pocket you keep the beef jerky in, and the heart too. (They are conveniently located close to each other.) And my friends who post the memes, jokes and videos every day, well, where would I be without you? I don’t want to know. I know you are just screwing around so you don’t have to do actual work, but I appreciate you. You are something good too!!

Finding something good isn’t too hard if you look around. The next good thing you find? Share it with someone. They may need it more than you know. The weather will improve, the sun will shine, and the pandemic will eventually subside. Just be safe, wash those hands, and remember there is a lot more good than bad. And you always have me, here, writing the nonsense that makes me happy. I hope none of you snooze me for 30 days after this.