And so ends April. May should be even more interesting for me (a hint of irony there) since I have read all my emergency books, have watched all the DVDs I once borrowed from a friend, and now I am more or less banned from Facebook. (Any links to my blog are blocked, and all previous posts have disappeared.) I can check in and make a few comments, but that’s about it. Oh, wait — I can also post links to my books on Amazon. So, I can’t post links to my blog, which is not spam, but I can post links to my books, which can be considered spam. What a bizarre situation!
For the past twelve years, Facebook was a safe place for me to hang out with people, to chat a bit, and make new friends, but now, not only am I isolated in real time, I am isolated in e-time too. I considered fighting the ban, but I think I’ll wait. It would probably do me more good to stay away from the inane and sometimes downright nasty remarks people make about those who don’t agree with them, and I have had my fill. I’ve also had my fill of following the progression of The 
Bob, and especially I have had my fill of trying to make sense of all the stories that don’t add up. But still, not checking in with Facebook and the friends I’ve made all over the world will be make a huge hole in my life.
Adding to the complication, my knee is acting up again. It had been mostly healed, but clambering up and down the very steep threshold to my backdoor (I had to see what the workers were doing!) has exacerbated the injury. I’ve been babying the knee again, going in and out the front door (where there’s a ramp) and it’s doing better, but still not well enough to go tramping around town.
When the garage is done, they will build a walkway from the back door of the house to the pedestrian door of the garage, and when they do so, they will eliminate that treacherously deep step. Until then, not being able to use the back door just adds to the complications of my life. (Though admittedly, by comparison, this is a very tiny complication.)
So, to recap what May is beginning to look like: no books. No movies. No connecting with friends off line. (Although the governor has removed some of the restrictions, seniors are still locked down.) No connecting with friends online. And no walking.
With any luck, the workers will be back on Monday or Tuesday, but for now, there’s just me. And me. And me. And not much else.
As I said, May should be interesting.
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Pat Bertram is the author of Grief: The Inside Story – A Guide to Surviving the Loss of a Loved One. “Grief: The Inside Story is perfect and that is not hyperbole! It is exactly what folk who are grieving need to read.” –Leesa Healy, RN, GDAS GDAT, Emotional/Mental Health Therapist & Educator.
Bertram's Blog 
May 1, 2020 at 12:24 pm
Feeling good about May. Traffic is picking up in Vegas, businesses are opening or getting ready to open. But the ridiculousness of the Bob continues to affect getting essential services up and running in our new home. I updated the blog with the latest adventures – lol!
I’m sorry you’re having FB issues. I know you get more out of it than I did. Hopefully, you can fill that void some other way soon.
May 1, 2020 at 1:04 pm
It was the blog that helped me get so much out of it. People got to know me, often quite well, before they introduced themselves. I hope May turns out to be a good month for you.
May 1, 2020 at 1:06 pm
I know this is irrelevant, because what’s good for me doesn’t follow that it be so for you too. But for what it’s worth, I deleted my FB account last year (after a whole year of pretty much ignoring it), and I have to say it’s been a net-positive experience. I opened up an Instagram account, so I can at least see the doings of friends and family. Less inanity, more of the joy. – Marty
May 1, 2020 at 1:13 pm
I’m actually looking forward to not checking in with FB so much. I had to when I posted links to the blog because people commented, but mostly, I think, it’s become a habit. I truly do not like knowing what’s going on in the world, even more, I don’t like knowing what people think about what’s going on in the world. FB was my choice more or less by default because the first site I joined — Gather — disappeared. Twitter is absurd. LinkedIn almost useless. Instagram is a phone and photo thing, which makes it less appealing for me. I did sign up for a different site, WTSocial, but never found a home there. It looks like, in the end, it will be strictly this blog for my online presence.
May 1, 2020 at 1:30 pm
I understand. That people use Facebook for news is actually frightening to me. But FYI, Instagram *is* a phone app for posting pictures, yes. But you can view and comment on a PC or tablet to your heart’s content.
May 1, 2020 at 3:13 pm
Using FB for news depends a lot on the friends you have, I suppose. Most of mine aren’t real life friends, just literary types I’ve connected with. The news does not come from FB — it comes from the articles these people find interesting. Considering that these people run the full range of biases, from ultra-liberal to ultra-conservative, I get a better view of the world than people who watch the news on television or wherever it is that people get their news. Frankly, I’d just as soon not know what is going on — it’s just that the various articles show up in my feed, and being one of those people who read everything, I do.
May 1, 2020 at 2:40 pm
I never used FB until my wife died. You’re supposed to close it and put up some sort of “tombstone” when a member dies, but I left it mainly so I could try to tell some of her friends I couldn’t otherwise contact what happened. It’s kind of nice seeing what people we knew are up to, and the cute critter videos etc are a nice distraction, so I may leave it for a while longer even though I think I’ve told almost everyone now.
The spam angle doesn’t make any sense to me. There are tons of “sponsored” posts, and also stuff from outfits I’m pretty sure she would have “liked”.
Using FB for news doesn’t make any sense to me either. Even the “real” news outlets are often suspect. In fairness though, I’ve seen a few posts with a FB disclaimer that they’ve fact-checked and found the info suspect.
When I messed up my knee skiing years ago they gave me a brace thing to restrict movement to varying degrees, sort of like an adjustable cast. It let me at least hobble around a bit. The thought of not being able to walk in May would really bum me out. Around here, that’s about the only month without either bugs or snow, and the fruit trees blooming is a nice sight.
May 1, 2020 at 3:08 pm
It wasn’t until after Jeff died that I got involved with Facebook. It was a distraction and a way of being involved in the world at one remove. It’s also been a way to connect with new widows and widowers, and give them a kind word if needed.
As for news — some of my friends post articles from the “legitimate” news sources, others post articles from papers and organizations with an opposite point of view. It gives me a well-rounded look onto the world and sometimes gives me a direction to go for further research. In a way, it’s a lot like an online magazine with no particular bias, and points me to articles I would otherwise never have seen.
I suppose, like everything else, it’s how you use it. I have discovered that often the fact checking that FB does fits with their agenda and strays from the truth. I’ve learned a lot about bias from the articles my various friends post, what FB editorializes about those articles, and my own fact checking (which is dubious at best, since so often several points of views all coalesce unto a single article or study, so I don’t really learn anything).
I was a lot happier when I had no idea what was going on in the world. Maybe FB has outlived its usefulness for me.
We’re already in summer here — 93 degrees. Eek. Enjoy a walk for me!
May 1, 2020 at 8:23 pm
Pat, have you gotten any kind of explanation from the gods at Facebook about their idiotic decision? I had a similar situation pre-corona virus that lasted a few days before they reversed themselves and even “sort of” apologized for the “mistake.” Our set-up on Facebook is so similar that I can’t for the life of me figure out why they are picking only on you, and not the rest of us who use Facebook in a similar manner.
I hate to hear that you are going into such isolation. Sounds as if you are experiencing one of those perfect storms by running out of books and DVDs at just the moment Facebook decides to pull its stunt. Does your library not offer e-books and audiobooks via the net? That’s been a lifesaver for me since my system shut down a few weeks ago. By the way, I’ve got “A Spark of Heavenly Fire” on my list for May reading, and I”m looking forward to it. Sounds like you were on to something when you wrote that one.
Stay well.
May 1, 2020 at 8:52 pm
I’ve been given no explanation except that my blog goes against their community standards for spam. They haven’t responded to any appeal I have sent them.
I’ll be interested to know what you think of A Spark of Heavenly Fire (except if you hate it). One of the reasons it irritates me when people tell me I don’t know what I’m talking about since I’m not a doctor is that I spent years doing research for ASHF, and that was before google and the internet, so it entailed a vast number of books, so I know some things and I can recognize patterns.
Supposedly, the library is open again for curbside service, but I emailed a list of books, and never heard back from them. Meantime, I’ll reread the Wheel of Time series by Robert Jordan. At more than a million words, it will keep me occupied for a while.
May 2, 2020 at 8:17 pm
While I am normally an introvert, I am finding it’s grinding on my nerves more and more. And this is supposedly going on 18 more months? We’ll all go even more mad than we are.
I also have the FB memorial in place, so I am exposed to it if I check it for messages. I have long disliked knowing what people’s innermost thoughts are about controversial topics, unless I specifically go looking or inquire directly.. I guess it ruins whatever illusions I had about them. One of my aunts has the opposite political stance I have and I find it interesting how divergent her views are as expressed there with the person I see when I do see her. Makes me wonder what’s going on under the surface in relation to our relationship.
May 3, 2020 at 6:14 am
Knowing people’s opinions definitely ruins any illusions. I have lost so much respect for so many people, people that I once thought were wonderful, that being forced out of Facebook is not a bad thing. It is interesting how people are different in life than they are online. Makes me wonder if they really believe the things they say online or if somehow they are compelled to say things they would normally not say. Or, I suppose, the online things are the truth belief, and what they say online the mask to keep from getting into arguments or having to defend an indefensible idea.
As for 18 months — yikes. Yes, mad. As in nuts, though a lot of people are mad as in angry. Some people, especially older folks, are starting to ignore the isolation rules and are congregating again — just small groups, but still . . .