I think now it’s safe to say that the great social experiment known as social media and the like which includes Facebook has been for the most part a failure. It seemed like in the beginning it was a way for people from all walks of life to share opinions and experiences but instead it’s just a pissing contest combined with yelling in that whomever can piss the furthest and scream the loudest wins no matter how wrong or morally corrupt they may be. Social media also was a platform for sharing experiences but instead it’s made people jealous. No matter how great or horrible your experience may be someone else will feel the need to top that. That brings me to a couple of friends of mine currently traveling in a few countries I’ve not visited yet. One has I’m sure spent quite a bit of money to get where they are and move around. I think they’re deserving of it all and I’m enjoying the pictures of places they’ve been though I sometimes feel money is the great insulator and you can run the risk of just being in the audience and not participating but not them as they tend to take that extra step to get the full flavor of where they are. My other friend is a comic like me and he’s immersing himself in amongst the locals and documenting every move. There was a time when jealously would bubble up and I would have to take stock of it all and understand that both of these moments in time were their experiences and not mine and to not wish I was the one there instead. I think like that because in the past I’ve been that guy gigging and immersing myself with the locals. Of course now that’s now all changed. I’m a father to a little boy my wife and I had to endure 3 1/2 years of vetting and bullshit to adopt. Could I still go to such places and experience such things? Of course but to do such things on my own with out sharing it with my son first hand now seems a little hollow. Hopefully in the future he and I can go to such places together but for now it’s just not logistically or financially possible and I have no idea if it ever will be. In the meantime I’ll take him to places not so new, rugged and raw and show him the places I know best because though they may seem like the same old to me it’s all new to him and the beauty of that is I get to see places I may have taken for granted with new eyes. Maybe I’m luckier than I thought…