I grew up in a time when stalking and obsession were selling points for romantic plots. “Oh, look! He wore her down until she said yes. They were surely meant to be together.”

I now live in a time where even writing that sentence made my fingers cringe.

We have learned (hopefully) that stalking is not romantic. Overly obsessing on anything is not healthy. What were romance storylines are now creepy thriller plot lines.

So, to reiterate today’s stance: stalking is bad.

Unless we do it in the comfort of our home. On our couch. Via our phones connected to social media. Then it’s not stalking. It’s just curiosity. And what harm ever came from curiosity? It’s not like there are any sayings warning us against it. Right? Curiosity did kill the cat. but I’m allergic to cats anyway so, really, where is the warning?

To be clear, curiosity is a good thing. We should be curious. It helps us discover and learn new things.

Which is what I said when I looked up a couple of former coworkers on Facebook. I normally don’t find who I’m looking for but this time I did. After a moment of scrolling through what is available on coworker number one’s list, I found a link to coworker number two on her friend list.

A few pictures revealed a bit of the gap since I last saw them over 20 years ago. “Hmm,” I thought. “Interesting.”

I would have sent a friend request but in all likelihood, neither one would remember me. The available information ended in 2023 for both so I didn’t see any current updates.

I wonder how many people have attempted to stalk me? How disappointed they must be at my somewhat boring life.