About Alban

I have an unlikely Facebook friend. His name is Alban. He is a 16-year-old high school student in Michigan.

We "met" on a page devoted to the Beatles. He asked why Wings broke up, and was eviscerated. Apparently, among the faithful, this is a stupid question. Never mind that, for Alban, Wings are ancient history. After all, he wasn't born until after Linda McCartney's death. Forget that -- were he to "just Google it," as he was advised to -- he would receive an overwhelming 186,000,000 results.

Most of all, disregard that we're all adults and  he's just a kid.

So I opened a can of wupass on the bullies. Because I hate bullies. And because I think it's great that Alban is a newly-minted Beatles fan.

The middle one is Alban's favorite.

So now he's my "friend." He shares his love of 50s and 60s music (he's just discovered Ricky Nelson and Elvis) and TV (he has an unexpected but passionate attachment to The Bradley Sisters from Petticoat Junction.) I'm sure that, as he roams his high school halls, he doesn't have many classmates who share these enthusiasms.

He also "likes" all my posts and writes things like, "Aw, you're nice." He IM'd me on Christmas Eve.

It's odd and a little embarrassing. But if it makes him feel less lonely, I can see no harm. We'll never meet in real life, not that he's expressed any desire to. I'm sure he'll soon outgrow me.

But as annoying as Facebook can be, this is what it does well. It makes a boy in Michigan feel connected. Adolescence is hard. I hope my little thumbs up's and comments help.