Sunday, January 21, 2007 Estremera: Mr. Snuffy and the post-modern world By Stella A. Estremera Spider's Web
MR. ALOYSIUS Snuffleupagus or Snuffy is Big Bird's friend, who for a long time was brushed off as Big Bird's imaginary friend, because not one in Sesame Street could see him. He would always manage to leave before anyone outside Big Bird could see him.
A peek in Wikipedia revealed the reason why the Children's Television Workshop finally decided to bring out Snuffy to the elders in the show, and from then on become a regular "seen" cast. It has a lot to do about the seeming uptrend in child abuse and the concern that children may fear the adults will not believe them if they say something as outrageous as having a Mr. Snuffy as a friend or... having been sexually abused.
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Chatting, it's the post-modern way of communicating, and much better than picking up the phone and calling as it allows you to do other things in between. Just type in some questions or replies, and tap "send", and the conversation goes on at your own convenience (you don't need to answer immediately as the conversation stays), sometimes for hours, sometimes just for one or two questions asked and answered.
This is how I met my chatmate. Yup, I have a chatmate. I guess that's normal, especially among the young, and not unusual among the single women wishing for some knight in shining armor from some developed country. The unusual thing about this chatmate is that she's too young. Not just young, she's four.
Now, you may ask, how can you be a chatmate to a four-year-old?
Honestly, I also don't know. We just ended up that way. Apparently, she's a regular visitor of the office a friend works in, since they live in the same compound where they work, and she has found an ally in this friend who allows her at times to use the computer, she broke virtual reality and made friends with me.
Beyond just chatting on the computer, she has also figured out how to chat from computer to cellphone. The computer on her side, my cellphone on mine. And that is how she continues her hi's and hello's and "ailuvyus" even when my Internet connection bogs down.
She may type some gibberish at times, especially when she forgets to put spaces in between her phonetic words, but all it takes is to say I don't understand what she's saying, and she will just send off a new message that's more comprehensible.
"batpapaesamani," she typed.
"batpapaesamani - I don't understand you," I replied.
"my papahas mani," she says. Oh, okay. That was after she asked me if I was going to the "mol", apparently thinking that I can tag along because her dad has money to buy us some treats maybe. Oh dear... somebody has got me mixed up in her world.
A few more exchanges like these, and she says her goodbye.
"baaiwisipbikoswenpapaenmamawipra aiwilslip," she said lengthily.
Hmmm... so it's prayer and sleep time, time to say our goodbyes then.
In what to others may be gibberish, we have created our own communication line. She has told me a lot about herself. Her dad bakes cakes, very good cakes at that, and this was confirmed by her dad's co-worker. She already introduced me to her friend (thank God, the friend is much younger and doesn't seem keen on the computer, or else I wouldn't know what to do with two toddlers flooding me with smileys and "ailuvyuatestla" and invitations to tag me along to the "mol" with their "papa hu has mani"). She said she will give me a Barbie doll (which I later learn she was asking her mom to buy for me... this is getting to be really embarrassing). And that she will soon be leaving Davao because her parents will be working in some place far away. Sad.
Beyond mere fascination on how a small girl, not yet in elementary grade can tap away her thoughts in a computer is the greater fascination of how we even understood each other. And yes, that niggling fear of whether I have just become Mr. Snuffy to a very impressionable young girl. Needless to say, I'm on my toes, not knowing if I should encourage her. Thus, much as I fear that showing up my face to her could fan this queer affinity, I just had to. After all, even Mr. Snuffy had to be revealed because we have already entered the post-modern world.
In this world, the simple warning of "Don't talk to strangers" takes on a different sphere -- the virtual sphere, and for baby boomers like me, it's scary and downright confusing.
My chatmate has given me a clear idea on how the Internet opened doors to more information, fast communication, a whole world of knowledge, and unimaginable dangers that we, the baby boomers, post-martial law babies, Generation X-ers and Y-ers, have to keep track of and understand.
The excuse of being too old to learn can no longer be used. There's a world out there -- a much bigger world than we can ever imagine, and very much like our real world, the virtual world holds as much danger as good. And to some unknowing kids and even more unknowing parents, the Mr. Snuffy their kids may be talking about may be a bad one... In the meantime, I'm enjoying being a good Snuffy, and I just got an email from Sara Freder saying I am a "Supra Celestial Being". Bwahahaha! To the unknowing, Sara Freder is among the biggest Internet psychic scams in the whole virtual world. Never, ever be had.
