What Are Friends For

Yesterday I was able to talk to Jenny on the phone as it is both of our fall breaks. We talked on every subject at great length, and at one point I found myself giving a particularly long monologue on the social implications of websites like facebook, myspace and things like cell phones, text messaging, chat rooms, online dating, etc. At one point I asked, "Are we losing our social skills?" Jenny gave a brief reply and off I went again on the social ills that are knocking at our door because we can't/won't interact anymore on a face-to-face level. I took a pause to listen for comfirmation that my audience was tracking with me. Alas, the slightest noise of affirmation was not made. After an awkward silence, I timidly asked, "Hello?" To which Jenny replied, "Hello...what? Did you go somewhere?" No, I had not gone anywhere. What could explain this curious breech in unspoken rules of verbal communication? Finally an explanation dawned on me. "Jenny, did you fall asleep?" She denied it at first, but I already knew the truth. You see, she had already fallen asleep during the two times I had clicked over to the other line (it was my family's phone line, so I wanted to at least take messages), and explained how tired she was prior to this. So, I could figure out what had happened during that silence where stars were born and died, and entire universes came into being.

Jenny had fallen asleep.

What are friends for but to keep you humble?