[dropcap]L[/dropcap]ongwinded Facebook rants. People love to complain on Facebook for everyone to see. Then, other folks come along and complain about all the complaining on Facebook. And now, I’m complaining about the people who complain about all the complaining. And round and round it goes.

Well.

I’ve decided to add a rant of my own to the pile.

THINGS I LOVE:

By Sean “Never-Was” Dietrich.

The first thing I love about Facebook is photos. Old ones. They touch me. Photographs of people, both alive and deceased. The older the better. In people’s photos, I see how other folks live, and their families. Then, I realize other folks’ aunts are just as off-kilter as mine. Especially if their aunts start drinking gin before noon.

And then I feel less alone.

Another thing I love: kids losing their teeth, learning to ride bikes, or eating popsicles. The truth is, Jamie and I weren’t lucky enough to have children. We missed out on the blessings of parenthood. But each morning on Facebook, when I watch someone’s baby smile at the camera, I feel a little tickle in my stomach. And I love that.

Dogs. I believe I must’ve been one in a past life. Or, maybe I just like naps and foul-smelling things. Facebook is seventy percent dogs. These canine pictures and videos are the reason I get out of bed. And don’t forget animal adoptions. Last year alone, Facebook prompted nearly eight million animal rescues.

Eight-cotton-picking-million.

But what I love about Facebook most, is people. People getting a piece of the spotlight. See, in the old days you were either famous, or you weren’t. If you were popular, you got attention. If you weren’t, they’d tie an apron around you and make you cook meatloaf for your husband and twelve kids. And that was life.

Not anymore. On Facebook, you’re as important as any celebrity. Your pictures matter. Your videos, your stories, your favorite songs, even your rants. They somehow matter. All of them.

At least they do to me.