Another Oddity

I was struck with another thought while reading blogs these last few days. So, lucky for you, I decided I needed to share.

One post that I read hinted at the computer as means of connecting people from all over the world. While is one regard this is true, it also makes me feel horribly disconnected.

There are people with whom I've been chatting for over a year and a half that I feel I have a bit of a bond with. The idea, however, that I will most likely never actually meet these people face to face saddens me a bit.

This got my little brain a-turnin'. I am a very social creature. This would lead one to believe that I am grateful for the advancement of computer, the telephone, and other such devices. This couldn't be further from the truth.

In out effort to expand our horizons, we have internalized to such a degree that we have defeated our own purpose. We spend countless hours chatting with a group of people we will never really know and yet couldn't recall the last time we talked with our neighbor (and what is her name, anyhow?). As with most things in our society, we have traded substance for convenience.

So here is the real meat and potatoes of what I'm getting at: where does one establish actual friendships anymore? And how does one go about it? There are people at church whom I've invited for dinner only to be met with odd stares and sideways glances. I guess old-fashioned friendships aren't on the agenda for today's modern 'man'.

I'd rather hop in the van and drive to a friend's house than call on the phone, so I guess you can add that to the long list of things that mankes me, well, unusual. If anyone is actually keeping track, I believe that's item number 428.