Purging The FB Friends List. It's NOT Cause I'm Angry With You.

We've all done it.  You get a friend request, or, "People You Might Know" thing pops up.  And you just say yeah, what the heck.

You kind of knew this person in high school.  Or it's a friend's, now adult, kid (and that kind of makes me feel creepy if they are a young woman).  Or it's a friend of a friend you have met once or twice.

You accept.  Thinking that you would like to know what these folks are up to all these years later.  Or what they are thinking.  And after a while?  Turns out what they are thinking is not at ALL what you are thinking, or they just don't post ANYTHING so you wonder why they bothered to get onto Facebook in the first place?  They are just taking up space.

About twice a year, I get rid of those folks.  It's not cause I don't like them.  Not cause they pissed me off.  Well, sometimes it IS cause they pissed me off.  If everything you post is hating on the President?  I'm tired of hearing from you.

I go down the list of my FB friends, and I start deleting people who have not said anything in a while, don't post at all, won't respond when they are on chat, and those I realize that I had NO idea why I put you on my friends list in the first place.

There were about 220 folks on my friends list when I started.  I'm down to 192.  And I'm OK with that.  I can pay more attention to 192 people than 220.

Guys I played hockey with years ago, but haven't kept in touch with?  Gone.  People from high school that said they knew me, but I don't remember them?  Gone.  Friends adult kids that I have nothing in common with, and some I DO really like?  Gone any way. People from high school who I DID know, but don't ever post, respond to chat or do ANYTHING on FB?  Gone.

Two things I noticed as I was doing this.  One was the folks who have deleted ME from their friends list.  I'm not surprised.  With my political and religious views?  Hell, I could piss off the Pope.  Even THIS one.  And he's pretty Liberal.  My friend, Phil thinks the Italian's in the Vatican are going to, "Whack" him if he doesn't shut up.

That will teach em to pick a, Jesuit and an educated guy to be in charge.

Oh, there I go AGAIN!  Can't help myself.

The second thing was how many of my friends are DEAD!  I'm not talking old relatives.  I'm talking folks MY age, that I either worked with, or went to school with that have died!  Cancer sucks, and it does NOT care how old you are.

I deleted about six or eight friends who have died in the last couple of years!

And I noticed something else.  My friend, Kathy that lived in Provo that died of Cancer last year?  I CAN'T  delete her page.  Someone is keeping it going and it consists of her friends and family posting how much they miss her.  I really loved my friend.  But I have to say, I think this is weird.  I said my goodbyes the last time I saw her.  Get over it folks.

So, if you are unfriended, as I have been numerous times.  Don't get bent out of shape.  No matter who you are?  You are not EVERYONES cup of tea.  And that's what makes life interesting.

Now, the 192 of you left of the 220 or so I started with?  Let me know what you think.  I'm curious.