A friend, and woman whom I went to high school with and who used to live across the street from us in Superior Montana is missing. Kelly Jo Merseal Dube – Woodward has been missing since Tuesday morning. She sent me an amazing birthday greeting on Facebook late Monday night, reminding me of 30 years back when I used to make paper movies and project them on a bed sheet on the wall, and it reminded me of how creative my life has always been. I sent her a message back saying how sometimes I wish we could return to those simple ways life used to be. I have seen Kelly over the years at the annual Mineral County Fair or some such community events, but mostly we have reconnected through Facebook the last couple of years. Several years back I worked with Kelly’s daughter Jesica, who was interested in photography and came to work with me as an apprentice for a short time. This morning I heard from Jesica and there is still no word about her mother.

Kelly’s car was found at a camp ground out in the woods abandoned just south of Superior. But I guess what strikes me most is the power of Facebook. There have been many people posting to Kelly’s Facebook page since she turned up missing. An out pouring of love, connection, fear, concern, and pleading for her return. What strikes me most is how many people we actually get to know in our lives and the complexity of how our lives touch so many others. As far as I know Kelly has never really left Superior, nor ventured beyond our small hometown, yet she has touched so many people. I know she is very active in the community and seems to always be involved in something. The Facebook responses to her absence goes on for pages and pages, all filled with so much emotions. Wow what a network of people we all get to know and what a powerful tool Facebook has become to bind us. As I continue to follow what’s going on and am becoming emotionally involved I still feel a strong connection to Kelly and hope with all my heart this morning that Kelly is found safe and in good health and that her family’s minds can rest at ease.

On my birthday I had over 150 people send me a birthday greeting. I was awestruck by so many people sending me messages throughout the day. Though I have not physically met many of the people on my Facebook, I feel I have developed a strong connection to so many. It’s funny how we can now connect to people all over the world and develop friendships that can be stronger than with others I have physically met. It is remarkable how many people I will know as the degrees of separation seems to narrow. There are so many people I now want to desperately meet. What a strange and wondrous world we now live in and how our lives become so intermingled in this remarkable era. Years ago I thought I lost all these connections to things and people from the past, but now it is a wonder to be so emotionally invested.