Last Monday night I took a friend to the emergency room,
from which we were released 3 1/2 hours
later. The friend is healing well with only bruises. She appears more shaken by
the knowledge that she cannot, at 70-something, simply keep forging ahead full tilt until the job is done. She has to
take breaks; she has to learn to stop when tired.
This is something I learned at 40. Last week's lesson is harder. I cannot go near emergency
rooms. I've spent parts of the past week
flat on my back, feverish, depressed, lacking energy, foggy-brained. I cough up
green phlegm. 90 minutes in the garden
wipes me out. The cats said a walk
around the block was out of the question and herded me back to my own
yard. When I'm tired, I'm waspish and
judgmental and spend too much time reading Facebook.
Which is how I discovered that Facebook had been hiding
posts even from folks designated Close Friends, and substituting posts from companies I had indicated I liked.
When Trending Articles appeared in my feed, it was too much. I don't want to
see anything from the Huffington Post. Did FB assume that because I
occasionally followed links to articles from the NYTimes and the Manchester
Guardian, I wanted predigested pap
delivered in a smug, sly, confiding tone? To get Trending Articles removed from
my feed I had to click Hide on 3 articles before I was offered the choice of
removing Huff Post from my feed. Stupid.
I spent time indicating companies that I do
like in order to get FB to stop feeding me ads from singles companies and death merchants. Now I get ads from bead and craft suppliers, furniture stores, and targeted
clothing ads. This is an improvement, but I do not want
their merchandise updates in my FB feed, and especially do not want them taking
the place of random thoughts by friends. Usually, the Hide option offers
permanent removal.
Some ads are offensive. I do not believe that wearing a charm bracelet
and tucking my hand in my back pocket will make my rear end any smaller, and I
do not care for companies that routinely refer to lady parts as boobs and
butts. It feels like a slap in the face. I know that using certain words decreases
their shock value, but I don't want
those words in my vocabulary. Bottom,
behind, rump, posterior, backside -- those are all acceptable. I prefer the
term breasts to all other slang and nonslang terms. I prefer to be treated with
courtesy by companies I don't know. A "hey girlfriend" followed
by terms I find nasty? I don't care what
is being sold. Perhaps the target audience is 14-year-olds with disposable income and foul mouths. I'm over 15, living on the edge, and while I may be familiar with slang and curse words, they are not the first things out of my mouth.
While I'm complaining, why is it that I develop an urgent need for sponges and scouring pads at the end of the month, when I'd prefer not to spend any money?
