Feeding Frenzy on Facebook

8:15 AM: I find a happy photo with a meme and I post it on my feed. I am the first to “like” it so that it will push to the top of the main FB feed my friends see.

- Like # 2

- Like #3

- Grumpy Face. A link is attached. There is NOTHING happy about last night’s catastrophe, controversy, corruption! (I do not respond.)

8:20 AM: I post a corny, non-political, joke. I like puns. I “like” it.

- Like# 2, 3, 4, 5

- A “friend” corrects an irksome, grammatical error as if I hadn’t noticed it also. (I do not acknowledge. I refuse to be put on the defensive.)

8:25 AM: I try my luck with an uplifting quote, a familiar verse often used in literature and song. I “like” it.

- Like #2

- Scolded again. This time for forcing a Bible verse on those who prefer I keep religious references to myself. (I remind myself to do this again tomorrow.)

8:30 AM: I post a link on my feed, current news. I share without a “like,” without a comment, without an emoji.

- An immediate slam, an accusation of being vile, complicit, divisive. (I delete this comment. It is MY feed. I unfriend this person, ban them from my posts.)

I log out. I need a breather, a cup of coffee, breakfast.

1 PM: HoneyBunch and I return from running errands in town. Lunch at a new place. I tag the place, post a photo of my order, and a nice comment on the food and the service. Again, I “like” my own comment to boost it on the main feed.

- Some stranger (not on my friend list) contradicts my comments. They found lipstick on their glass of ice tea, they had to swat at flies in the dining room, the server was rude. . ..

- I delete their libelous comment. Again, it is MY post, not theirs.

7 PM: I post a picture of the novel I just finished. I congratulate and tag the author on a job well done. (I “like” my comment.)

- Like #2, 3, 4

- Comments of agreement. I interact with them and ask for other book suggestions.

- One person talks about the slow pacing, the historical inconsistencies, the exorbitant price, best to buy it second hand. Author So and So did a better job on the same topic.

- I consider deleting this comment, but when others come on and disagree with this person, I leave it at that.

7:15 PM: Wow! Look at this recipe. (Like.)

- Like # 2. 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10

- I can’t have sugar. Can you post this recipe without sugar?

- Is this gluten free?

- It has chocolate. I don’t eat chocolate that is not ethically harvested!

- I comment that the recipe is not mine. I just like to look at doughnuts.

9 PM: I log out. I know I should post consistently but I have had enough of “prime time” FB. (7 pm – 9 pm)

3 AM: Insomnia. I scroll though FB, searching for posts I want to post on my feed. No one bothers me as I read and post. I ignore spam, click-bait, and anything I dislike. I post something funny, and I “like” it.

- Aw. Are you up? Insomnia?

- Something bothering you?

- Do you need a virtual hug? An emoji? A gif?

I log out and go to bed.

Finding My Muse

1)Because my muse has a wicked sense of humor and visits me at odd times and in inconvenient places, I have learned to record inspirations/ideas immediately before I forget them or they dissolve into nothing. I carry small notebooks, own a digital recorder, and have been known to text messages home. I will scribble on anything – old napkins I find in my glove compartment or old receipts. I even pop out of bed in the middle of the night to jot things on sticky pads. 2)Calendars are great places to find topics. I use important dates, seasons, and upcoming holidays to plan blog posts. I can also go back into my work calendar to refresh my memory about meetings, conferences, or books I have read that might be worth sharing with others. 3)I will sit with a good cup of coffee, pen and paper ready, and read the newspaper searching for topics, interesting characters, or modern trends. News channels and other newsfeeds are just as good. 4)I love to read the TV and movie guides for titles and…

The Girl Who Eats Canned Spinach

I went to a Catholic elementary school run by strict Belgian nuns, and we could not leave the cafeteria until we ate everything served on our food tray. Once a week, they served warmed, canned spinach with our meal. The spinach tasted nothing like the way my grandmother made it, but I ate it. I gulped it down in three or four bites and it amazed my table mates. I told them we ate it at home so I was used to the taste. Now, my real problem began the day I ate the spinach off my friends’ trays so we could go play outside. As soon as the nun monitoring the cafeteria turned her back, my friends ate something off my tray I didn’t want, and I ate their serving of spinach. I only did it for two of my table mates, but the word spread. On the next Spinach Day, kids followed me to my table.I was suddenly very popular, and as soon as the nun marched off to the other end of the cafeteria, my friends and an army of others who only knew me as The Girl Who Eats Spinach, begged me to take their servin…

Facing My Fear of Guns

With the ownership of firearms comes responsibility, so I had asked HoneyBunch several times to teach me how to shoot and to help me get my License to Carry. I got my wish two weeks ago. HB and I signed up to take a LTC class. He bought me a gun, one similar to his, that would be the type we needed to show shooting proficiency, and for one whole week he tried to get me to become familiar with it, but I was hesitant. I read the booklet that came with the gun. I practiced loading and shooting it in what is called dry shooting (no bullets), and since the flyer said I would have to shoot thirty shots at different distances, I finally tried with it loaded. I was a nervous wreck. The class of twelve turned out to be close to forty people. We were of all ages, colors, and genders, and I was glad I wasn’t the only woman my age. The shooting test came first, and we were separated into two groups. Those who were proficient (or thought they were) would shoot first, and those who were novices wou…

Raquel Martina Martinez

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