Doc Holliday Would Have HATED Facebook!

For those of you who don't know, Val Kilmer's portrayal of Doc Holliday in Tombstone is one of the greatest cinematic performances in the history of EVER! I have no idea how many times I've watched this flick. Rarely a weekend goes by that it's not being broadcast somewhere on Cable. I get sucked in every time.

Doc delivers a plethora of clever lines in this movie. Most of them are sarcastic, witty, and concise. However, one line near the end has always impacted me, even though I've heard it dozens of times.

Turkey Creek Jack Johnson is quizzing Doc as to why he's willing to involve himself in Wyatt Earp's feud. Doc simply states, "Because he's my friend."

Johnson then says, "Well hell, Doc, I've got lots of friends."

Then Doc simply replies, "I don't."

In my mind, this dialogue between Turkey Creek Jack Johnson and Doc Holliday is the turning point in the movie and it always gives me pause for reflection.

More times than not, I'm in total agreement with Turkey Creek Johnson. He utters that line and I think, "Me too, I've got lots of friends." On occasion, however, if I'm watching Tombstone late at night, by myself, the thought will enter my crazy mind, "Me and you, Doc."

Doc would have hated Facebook! He would have had thousands of friends. THOUSANDS OF FRIENDS on Facebook!  But would Doc ever felt as close to any of them as he did to his friend, Wyatt? I'm beginning to hate Facebook, too! It is becoming abundantly clear that being "friends on Facebook" is detrimental to being friends in life!

It dawned on me last weekend, that I have dear friends that I used to talk to, converse with, and even have lunch with on a regular basis. In some instances, I will have no personal interaction with them for several months! But, I'm keeping up with these dear friends because I saw their last Facebook check-in at the Friday night game!

Occasionally, I will bump into someone that I haven't seen in years. They say, "How's So&So doing?I know y'all  are real tight." I respond, "Oh yeah, they're doing great! Got the cutest new puppy. Saw it on Facebook."

Meanwhile, I haven't spoken to that person in 9 months and haven't seen him in 2 years. But, we're friends on Facebook! So, things are ALL GOOD!

It has been a crazy week! And the nostalgic effects of this silly Reunion are still messing with my mind. A friend linked Cheaper Than Therapy to the Closed Reunion Page. The response was phenomenal! (And a little intoxicating!) But I'm pretty sure that I'm NOT the only one who checked that reunion page dozens of times during the week.

Apparently, no one wanted the weekend to be over. And there's much talk as to not waiting another 10 years. It almost seemed that there was some level of grieving. A certain sadness shadowed the posts following that event because ALL we are NOW is back to being Facebook friends. And being Friends on Facebook doesn't seem to be enough.

Last weekend, we hugged each other's necks, kissed each other on the cheeks. And the laughter was SO REAL! Apparently,  "LMAO"  and "ROFL" as a response to a Facebook post is just NOT enough!

The image I try to portray to my DOZENS of readers is one of cynicism, pessimism, and downright arrogance! For some reason, I NEED you to believe that I'm just a pompous horses' ass!

But I welled up a little last Monday when writing that piece and felt like a complete wimp. Doc Holliday would not have approved! But unlike Doc, I have lots of friends! And they have ALL impacted me in a very special way. I am a blessed man! And I refuse to let Facebook trivialize those blessings!