Six degrees of separation

I know we are all allegedly only six people away from knowing everyone on the planet....but no where in the world is that more evident than on facebook.

Say all you want about how bad facebook is and how no one knows how to be social any more.  Or some of my younger co-workers who say they are "over" FB because it was started as a college only thing now anyone can do it (at which point I point out they are not in college any more anyway...haha).  But for a busy working mom with family and friends scattered over the states it is so easy for me to keep in touch.  Send a message, send an evite, look at pictures of my friend's son in Arizona, look at my friend's pictures of their Florida vacation (without having to take the polite five second stare at the pictures of people I don't know and don't give a flying fish about seeing....ooo did I say that out loud?)...its all there on FB and I can get through it while drinking my morning paper.  Any important news ends up on FB....and then I don't have to look at the paper's website.

But back to knowing everyone.  FB feels the need to suggest friends to me.  As if my life will not be complete until my friend list includes every registered user of FB.  Today two people showed up on the right side with 12 mutual friends.  Two people who I didn't recognize, didn't even think "oh I heard their name the other day".  Now let me back up and add, several of my dearest friends are townies.  They grew up here, their parents are here, their cousins are here, their siblings are here and their kids are learning in the same classrooms they did.   I am very used to them going on long conversations about so-and-so from high school.  There are tons of names I have heard that eventually pop up on my "suggested friends" list.  I clicked on the link to see who we shared.  Yup...all pretty close friends....  How in tarnation did I not know this person.  I clicked on the other name.  More "fringe" type friends.  I understood not knowing that person.  Back to the other girl though.  So then I clicked on "see all".  Holy cow, do you know how many strangers share 10 or more mutual friends?  It was amazing.  Maybe I am just six people away from Matthew McConaughey after all....wouldn't that be sweet?