why i deleted a dozen happy birthday wishes

“Are you really going to delete her birthday greeting to you?” Maya asked watching in mild disapproval of my actions.

It surely seemed unfair that i had not even warned people that i would start deleting their facebook “happy birthday” greetings before i started doing it.  All of these digital media’s i treat more like graffiti walls than the Akashic Record. That is i blow it away at the slightest displeasure, if i control the thread.

i see all these super clever people wishing simple “Happy Birthday” to all these people who there is so much more interesting stuff to talk about and it throws me into a dwarf rage.  So instead of complaining about it, i pull out my mouse and start cleaning up.  This charming Romanian activists greeting – gone.  This beautiful model i was involved with briefly – zap.  Numerous people who are facebook friends, but little else – they will never hear from FB that their well wishing has been fried, but should they come back to look for it they will detect its absence,  But does anyone come to look and see if their “happy birthday” message is still on someones wall?  i dont think so.

Of course Aubby totally parodied me with this entry:

I don’t care that it is your birthday. Birthday’s don’t matter. What matters is how alive you are. The fact that people matter to you and the way you dance with them. The stories you collect and the ease with which you share them. The fact that when looking a beautiful woman in the eye, you suffer no hesitation in telling her about your observation. Any fool can watch a clock tick. You make the time matter. Love you, Archie.

Which is similar to dozens of anti-birthday messages i have written to others.

Part of what is going on for me is that these simple short messages are all lost opportunities for love letters.  And short clever love letters at that – the most important kind.  If the authors thought for just a few seconds longer, they would be able to come up with something much more meaningful.  But like commuters charging into ush hour traffic day after day to sit their alone in their car complaining about not being able to move and doing absolutely nothing about it, we sing the same stupid song, we make the same vapid FB greeting, we tick it off our to do list and we add nothing to the world.

i want better than that.