The other day I went to Facebook and read a semi-crazed rant by someone who was complaining vehemently about how stupid it was to click ‘like’ every time you read a post. “Are you brain-dead? What was the point?” He mentioned that some people even do so on posts about a death in the family or a personal tragedy of some sort. I guess he has a point there. Bad taste. I was actually tempted to click ‘like,’ but for obvious reasons thought better of it. Instead, I scrolled on.
Then I came to this strange post by a guy named Mark Johnson:
“Are you filthy rich? Do you have so much money you don’t know how to spend it? Do you have a fascination with the paranormal? Before you spend it on another Bentley or buy that island in the South China Sea, we have a better suggestion.
“Why not give a huge chunk of change to us? We are looking for a benefactor/sugar daddy/sugar momma to toss a ridiculous amount of unneeded cash our way to fund our pet paranormal project. We want to take 3-4 months off work, buy a motor home, and travel across the United States investigating some of the most haunted paranormal locations for a new documentary series.
“We will be communing with ghosts and chasing demons till they drop! There will be no return on your investment, which means you can use us as a tax write off and at least get a producer credit. So if you have a few hundred thousand to a few million burning a hole in your pocket, give us call! Your investment will be well spent! My mommy always said if you don’t ask, you don’t get, so we’re asking!”
* * *
Was he serious or was it a joke? Maybe both. I don’t know Mark Johnson well. I only met him once when Trish and I appeared on his radio/podcast show called, Unknown Origins. I noticed no one had responded, and kind of felt sorry for him. So I clicked ‘like’ and moved on.
Within the hour, I received a message from Mark.
“Hi Rob. Thanks for liking my joke post. It’s ironic as I just listened to your interview with Whitley Strieber on Dreamland about your book on Synchronicities, and I was wondering if you and Trish would like to come back on our radio show. We are now on Art Bell’s Dark Matter Radio Network on Monday nights from 9-10 PM, and I’m currently booking guests for June. Let me know if you’re interested and we’ll pick a date. It’s a subject I’m interested in.”
I wrote him back and told him that he’d had a synchronicity – the subject we would be talking about on his show. So clicking ‘like’ really ain’t that bad. Sometimes good things can come out of it, even synchros!
The post from Mark may have been a spoof – but he’s right about “if you don’t ask, you don’t get.” I remember being told that many years ago.
We’ll be on Unknown Origins, 9-10 p.m., Monday, June 2.
What a funny post!
I don’t do much on Facebook (although sometimes I find it’s a good source of news)……..the structure of the thing makes me nervous, and also the way people seem to be very addicted to it. It gives the illusion of being “connected” to people when, in reality, I feel it disconnects us in many ways. I’ve found blogging so much more gratifying, and so much more enjoy peoples blogs.
I don’t do much facebook, either, Lauren. Blogging is more fun!
I “like” this post and I’m looking forward to hearing the interview.