Great Stories

I’m taking something of a sabbatical from Facebook – I’ve only posted there a handful of times this year.  I don’t check it obsessively,  like I once did.  In fact, sometimes an entire 24-hour period will go by without me even logging in (gasp!).  But this post isn’t about Facebook.  It’s about what I do now when I find something interesting that I deem worthy of sharing with others.  It doesn’t happen often, but every now and then, I come across a great story and I feel compelled to talk about it.   This is one of those times.

I read a fascinating account by a American newspaper editor living in Brazil who met an elderly couple who represented the last vestiges of a population of expatriated Americans who fled the South immediately following the Civil War.  Some 7000 people who were actively courted to bring their knowledge of cotton farming to Brazil at a time when it was struggling to grow its own population.  The most striking part of the story was that they maintained a separate and distinct culture, resisting assimilation for a century, right down to their quirky southern drawl.  Simply amazing.  You can read the whole story here.

Great stories like this should be shared. But not on Facebook.  It can’t do a story like this justice.  And yes, I realize that you are probably reading this on Facebook (because I’m still mirroring my blog there, but not for much longer), but if you got this far, it means your attention span hasn’t been permanently damaged.  And if you actually clicked the link above, and read the story, big bonus points for you!

Because if we can’t share great stories, then what is the point of this internet thing, anyway?