No, no, no, and no: Not this sign. (Although when I take the reins of this charming--if somewhat soggy--planet as its Benevolent and Whimsically Eccentric Dictator for Life, we are totally rolling with that one, my cherished minions-to-be!)
There's this friend of mine. Let's just call him "A." Partly because I promised not mention names, and partly because he might just enjoy the James Bond MI6 cachet. (Or, alternatively, the oblique "Men in Black" special agent riff. Or both.)
Anyhoo, A. not only is a prolific user of Foursquare, but also set up his Twitter account to re-post to Facebook. Which is where something like the following exchange took place (names and places changed to protect anonymity):
A: I'm at BlahBlahBlah (1234 Yadayada Street, Somewhere) http://4sq.com/wH@+3V$
FB Friend #1: Holy crap! So am I! Which table are you???
A: Oh, man, I think I had my back to you the whole time. Sorry about that, dude!
FB Friend #2: didn't you see [another friend] and i in the back waving????
FB Friend #3: Really, wth? Be more observant next time!
Me: Hahahahahaha...that's just ludicrously funny. Thanks for the laugh, all!
Wow. I mean, if that isn't a sign of our location-aware social media times, what is, I ask you? So I immediately messaged A. to ask for clearance to blog about this--oh-so-excited because, as I put it, "I just thought it was hilarious in the 'you can't make this up' kind of way."
Except that, yes, yes you can make that up. As it turns out, it was all part of a running joke. In reality, one of the above friends lives across The Pond; the other two live five states away.
Needless to write, I was severely abashed to learn how thoroughly I'd been pranked by an inside joke. But A.--bless his heart--aptly noted, "Actually, I think it says something about the age we're living in that this is even possible. That itself is worth a story. "
Too right you are, A...too right you are. Thanks, man. (P.S.: If you're gonna keep bein' all profound 'n insightful like that, you're in mortal danger of being asked to guest-blog one of these days! Don't say I didn't warn you... [evil grin])
