Acquainted Strangers on Digital Playgrounds

When I was in junior high school, I received a phone call every few weeks in the evening from an unknown female classmate - before standardized caller ID, and when people answered the telephone without hesitation. I recall my parents being suspicious, especially my typically overprotective dad who disliked me talking to her but, obviously, not concerned enough to stop it. I, on the other hand, relished the challenge of identifying her; in the spirit of my detective heroes Batman and Sherlock Holmes, I would discover the nature of the peculiar correspondence! With this in mind, I let her do most of the talking and never offered much in response other than required - easily, a natural trait. When I did inquire of her, I made certain to be subtle in my pointed commentary, disguised as idle chitchat, to elicit significant information to identity my mysterious paramour.

Oddly, she would refer to me as “Sam,” because, as she informed, I reminded her of someone else by that name. Although not religiously devout, it brought to mind the biblical story of Samson and Delilah. A man determined in his will but susceptible to vices, a woman intriguing yet deceptive in her wily manner. At the time, it seemed very much corresponding, if not perhaps a beneficial lesson for later in life.

Through subsequent communication and my extracurricular covert investigation at school, I eventually deduced my benevolent admirer’s identity. Nevertheless, I did not immediately reveal this knowledge to her or disclose it to anyone else. On yet another evening when she called, we conversed as usual for several minutes; at an appropriate point in our exchange, I sprung my trap! Addressing her by name, she was stunned but not surprised.

All these years later, our friendship remains intact as she truly only sought mutual companionship. Someone who wanted, maybe even needed, to converse with me, and someone to whom I enjoyably obliged despite my parents’ reservations. In the current activist environment addressing gender norms and heralding societal change, the scenario probably would be considered toxic. While I appreciate the sentiment, the simplicity of that bygone era seems far away. Despite social media and the intertwined connections it has ushered, Elvis is wrong - the world could use more, not less, substantive conversation beyond our fleetingly superficial, and oftentimes virulent, interactions on the digital playground.

©2019 Steve Sagarra