The Bus Stop; A Modern Day Parable

            The early morning rays pierce through the sky as a new day dawns. Ed, a homeless man, is back at the bus stop again. For the past couple years Ed has been sitting at the stop everyday chatting with the people as they expectantly wait for the bus to take them to their various destinations. Now if you knew anything about where Ed lives you would soon find out that the bus stop is one of the worst places for a person such as Ed to be. The people at the bus stop are regulars, not tourists and most of them don’t want to part with their hard earned money. But Ed knows this and more often than not, he could have had enough money to have a hot meal had he sat with his coin can in another part of the city. But to Ed this is all secondary, for you see Ed has a reason for sitting at this bus stop, and when asked why he insists on sitting there day in and day out”

           he simply replies “because God told me to”. 

         To most this doesn’t make any sense at all but nonetheless, Ed is resolute. One day Ed was sitting at the stop as usual, when he saw a car pull up, smoke and steam leaking from under the hood. Out jumped a man looking like he himself was about to blow a gasket. His face turned to a nice shade of crimson as he angrily shouted to no one in particular; He slammed his fingers violently on his cell phone, trying to get a signal. Finally, after getting through to a tow truck, the stranger sat down on the bench next to Ed. 

          “rough day” Ed asked 

          “You can say that again” The man replied. “I’ve had two sermon series plus a men’s study group, and a couple that’s going through a nasty divorce; and the weeks not even over”. 

          Ed just smiled back disarmingly, “So you a preacher eh?” 

        “Yeah for now anyways” the man grunted back. 

        “Must be worth it though, doing the Lords work and all” Ed stated. 

        “Well to tell you the truth I’m about sick of it” the man replied. “In fact I would have moved on long ago if any other church in the city could give a guy a decent paycheck”

         “Oh I see” Ed said. Looking the man up and down and noticing his designer suit and brand new shoes. Finally the tow truck came and the stranger was gone almost as fast as he had first appeared. 

          A couple of days later Ed was again sitting on his bench when a young man, barely sixteen and scared by the looks of him, came and sat down on the bench next to him. “Where you off to?” Ed said. 

         “I don’t really now” the boy replied. “I’m running away.”

         “Oh now I’m sure you don’t want to do that.” Ed stated. And for the next couple of hours Ed talked with the boy reassuring him that there is always hope even when you doubt the most. Finally Ed ended with these final words 

         “After all young fellow God has things figured out” 

         The boy nodded and replied with a sheepish “thanks” before getting up and starting back home. An hour went by and as Ed sat there watching the sun go down he heard a car slowly pull up. Ed looked up and saw the preacher, tears running down his eyes.

          “How can I ever repay what you did for my son?” 

          Ed simply replied “You know there are some things that are worth more than money can buy” 

         The preacher sat down next to him and replied “You know I think I’m starting to understand what you’re saying.” 

Lights Camera Action

The stage is set, the lights go on and the audience is sitting on the edge of their seats to get a better look at the latest movie actress/model as she explains her latest fashion statement. It appeared on the cover of Seventeen Magazine only two weeks ago. She makes small talk with the host of the show and makes a witty reply to which the crowd enthusiastically claps and cheers as the “applause” sign is lit up. “Anything you have to say to your fans?” the host asks. She replies “Well it sure is a lot of work but I believe everyone was born to be a star.” The crowd cheers again. Watching her performance is Sarah with her mother Jen. She is your typical teen armed with a bright smile and a smattering of fashion knowhow, she envisions herself in the high leather armchair being interviewed on national television. As she rides home in the car with her mom Jen she has one phrase running through her mind “Everyone was born to be a star.” Yes, Sarah thinks to herself, I certainly was born to be a star.

 As she gets home she looks into the mirror and discovers that if she is going to be the next star she will need to change a few things. As the idea of famedom and success swim through her mind she begins to change the carefree attitude she once maintained and rapidly asserts the new “stylish” self. The changes begin small, a few bucks on a new wardrobe is “nothing serious” she insists to herself; after all one needs to at least look presentable to be considered a “fashion” expert. The next thing to go is her “unattractive” friends. “After all I can’t be seen with those kind of people.” She explains to her new posse. After some time Sarah does indeed get recognized by a local talent agency. After her first photo shoot Sarah is exhilarated. She has finally begun the first steps to her dream! She continues her modeling picking up a few tips about “eating” from the other more experienced models. The next five years go by in a blur and finally Sarah is walking on stage and shaking the hand of the same host the “late night” show she saw as a kid. She talks with the host feeling the rush of excitement. “Where did you get your inspiration” The host asks. Sarah smiles exclaiming “You know when I was a young girl I saw this show and from then on knew what I wanted to be a star.” The host nods and the crowd cheers. But as Sarah goes to sleep that night she feels this small nagging doubt clinging to her subconscious. “Ok” she says to herself just before she slips into her dreams. “So what if I don’t talk to my family or friends anymore at least I have fans.” She reassures herself “And the whole not eating thing is only until I get next month’s cover photo done.” She finally drifts off into a fitful sleep.

Another five years go by and Sarah’s mother Jen is at the front desk of the rehab clinic. Sarah has now been in here for three months. Broke and out of a job Sarah feels the eyes of her mother boring into the back of her skull long before she even opens the door. “Back again eh mom?” she asks. “Of course” Jen replies. “It is you birthday after all.” “Hmm I didn’t even remember” Sarah states. Although to be honest Sarah doesn’t remember much of the last five years, her addiction to fame led her invariably to other addictions and this clinic is her “last ditch effort” to get clean. Jen finally goes, leaving Sarah to contemplate her situation. “If only I had known the cost of all this” Sarah says bitterly to herself. “I have no friends, barely anyone in my family even recognizes me. My fans have abandoned me and now this clinic is driving me insane!” She goes to bed that night thinking back to that TV show actress she watched as a little girl “If only she had told me the truth” she says to herself “maybe things would have been different”. Her face breaks into a grimace “Who am I kidding I wouldn’t have listened anyways.” A few days later Jen pick up her Sunday news to discover that Sarah’s picture is again in the paper but this time it isn’t in the “adds section” Jen is jerked back into reality as the phone rings. She picks up “hello?” she says. The voice of a burly officer rings back through the phone. “Ma’am my name is Captain Douglas. I’m sorry to bother you, but I’m afraid I have some bad news, it’s about your daughter.”    

A Life in the Digital World

              Its two am. I’ve been working on my research paper sporadically for the past four hours while simultaneously chatting on IM, watching the latest viral video on YouTube and lounging in my digital home, Facebook. The time ticks by slowly until finally I tear myself from my laptop and go to bed. Another day passes and I find myself at home once again. I’ve just walked into my apartment and already I find myself gravitating toward my laptop I left on the kitchen table the night before. In three minutes I’ve successfully opened five different tabs; Pandora, YouTube, G-Mail, Blogger, and Facebook, you know the usual. But wait, immediately after I log into Facebook my eyes look to the top left corner, yes!! Eight new comments and a friend request to top it off, without knowing it a smile slips unto my face and then I feel it, that small sense of accomplishment and acceptance, I knew it was going to be a good day after all.      

            Like so many others I had jumped on the cultural bandwagon. Soon after I discovered the Social Network I began to spend hours in my digital home, creating my image and optimizing my profile to display an aura of “coolness”. I bought into the false sense of community and acceptance that Facebook offered. To me Facebook was not just another site; it was my link to the social world. It’s what separated the cool from the weird; it was the numerous friend requests and invitations to select “groups” that fueled my desire to become a Facebook titan. It would not be until years later that I began to notice the imperfections of the digital world.

            It’s now been three years since my marriage to the Facebook community. Once again I am multi-tasking a host of social websites, music, videos etc. I log unto Facebook for what must have been the fourth time that day and then something happens, or rather, nothing happens. I look to the familiar top left corner and see the inevitable, this time there are no new comments or friend requests, group invites or tags. That’s when it happens, I suddenly feel nothing. The familiar joy of feeling “plugged in” has been slowly evaporating for some time now and I find myself scrambling to grasp handfuls of this ever receding social vapor. But why am I feeling this way? After all according to my profile I’m quite a popular guy in the digital world. I have all the right friends, pics, tags and groups. I should be happy, shouldn’t I?  Why am I feeling alone and cut off? That’s when I start to realize the truth, the truth that I’ve been trying to live in a world that simply doesn’t exist; or at least a world that only exists online. Part of that I realize, has been my fault, after all my digital self is far different than the person you would see pass you in the hallway. I was just as guilty. To quote Douglas Groothuis I had “overexposed my underdeveloped self” On the surface I was considered one of the popular guys, in reality the friends who knew the real “me” was closer to five than five-hundred.

            Today I still use Facebook, although not in the same manner as before. I would like to think that there’s a little more “me” in my profile nowadays and a little less “image”. And if ever I’m in need of a friend I go to my true community, instead of my digital one, for support. Although my road down Facebook has been filled with quite a few “potholes” and U-Turns the experience has left me the wiser for it. Its two am again….time to log off.