Ömer Gölgeli did not want to be my Facebook friend. Not at first anyway.
When I made my request to be his friend he replied he only had people as Facebook friends who he had met face-to-face. I knew this wasn't true because I had seen he had friends from all over the world.
The real reason he resisted becoming my Facebook friend because he thought I was an old geezer, which I am. Also because his priority was in meeting attractive young women, which I am not.
He had some pretty good reasons.
At the time I was new to Facebook and thought it would be fun to have a friend what was a twenty-something, Sunni Muslim, from Turkey. Believe it or not, here aren't many of those folks in my neighborhood. I thought it would be fun to get to know one.
So I wrote him back and told him I had bought a plane ticket to Turkey so we could meet face-to-face. He did not believe me, of course, but I got his attention.
He relented and allowed me into his circle of Facebook friends. I am glad he did.
Though we don’t communicate at huge lengths, we do exchange messages fairly regularly. He refers to me as "Old Man", which I might take offense at except I am an old man and he seems to regard me with a certain fondness.
We have had discussions about politics, religion, and what is going on in the world. It has been interesting to see the world from his perspective. Our exchanges have certainly enhanced my life.
Ömer was one of the first Facebook friends I made from outside of my country. I am glad he relented and allowed me into his circle of Facebook friends. He has certainly given me a broader view of the world.
