Sometimes it takes a while to realize that you are getting old – or at least older. I was reminded about that the other day when I was filling out a Facebook profile. One of the problems with Facebook is that it is up to date, but will not necessarily recognize the past. In this case, I was trying to put in my high school’s name which happens to be Stoneboro High School. The school was in Pennsylvania – no it didn’t move. Rather it consolidated after I left with the high school in Sandy Lake which is a town about 1.5 mile away. The consolidated school is Lakeview and is located in Stoneboro. The new name came from the fact that from the front of the high school you can see the beautiful lake known as Sandy Lake. The fact is that the lake is located in Stoneboro and not the Town of Sandy Lake (which is 1.5 miles away), but that is another issue.
The problem arose in that Facebook only recognizes that Stoneboro’s high school is Lakeview and as far as it is concerned there never was another high school there. Thus, when I would attempt to put in Stoneboro H.S., good old Facebook would change the name to Lakeview. I discovered early that hurling epitaphs at the computer was not a change maker. Being resourceful, I resorted to subterfuge to get around the problem. Actually, it took several varieties of subterfuge to achieve the desired result, but I accomplished the goal and now my page indicates that I graduated from Stoneboro H.S. I would explain how I did it, but then Facebook might get ticked off, and cut off that method and other graduates of Stoneboro would face the problem that I thwarted without the ability to do likewise.
I must admit that the latter is not really a big problem in that there were only thirty six graduates in my class (we started with fifty as Freshmen). Sandy Lake had even fewer which is one good reason that they decided to combine the two high schools. Nevertheless, right is right and since I did not attend Lakeview and in fact have never been in the building, it is only right that I thwarted Facebook’s base attempt to keep Stoneboro High School out of their domain. The same thing may apply to good old Sandy Lake H. S. since I have some affection for it as well. I had attended Sandy Lake Elementary School until my parents moved to Stoneboro when I was in 8th grade. I feel good about bringing one of the giants in high tech to their knees – just don’t mention it to them.
As I started out it does seem that there are more and more happenings that make me realize that I am getting older – not old, for Pete’s sake as The Blonde in the house says that is not going to happen (You don’t argue with The Blonde on some issues). Just the other day, I was speaking on the phone with one of my best friends from high school. We were trying to piece together how many of the mighty 36 graduates are still around. It was not a good session. We are aware of a significant number who are no longer with us, but some have moved from the area and we know not what their situation is. We used to have reunions, but when you could hold all the attendees around a small table, it ceased.
Now that I think about it more, perhaps I should just let Facebook change my high school to Lakeview. Then everyone will think that I am young and debonair! Nah, if I did that and somebody wanted to appoint me a high public office, it would be used against me. I will just get older gracefully!
Barry Evans writes about Life in The Villages for Villages-News.com