One of the things about cell phones is that you end up telling the caller where you are and what you are doing. Kind of like an oral Blackberry. I am always bemused when I go out to eat and I ser four men together at a table, together, eating, and all four are on their cell phones, talking to other people. Why did they go out to eat together?
It seems to me that the more we use cell phones, the more alone we are. And I know so many people with two or three phones and e-mail, and I can never really talk to them, at least for a number of days. So despite all the communications, we find our ways to be very, very private and singular. That's okay. It's the illusion of availability I hate. Boy, do I hate "the party you called is not available." Even more, I hate the phones with no mail message service that simply says, "call again later." I've gotten used to, at least, voice mail.
I've gotten used to the computerized voice mail transactions. Today it was a nuisance because I kept sneezing, and every time I did, it upset the program and I had to start over several times.
But there are pluses. Like e-mail, and blogs. And probably chat rooms if I ever find one I want to talk in, which I haven't so far.
We are so lucky in this country to have electricity available almost all of the time, and cars to drive. I notice in radio gripes that people actually get much more upset over driving violations that inconvenience them than in bigger issues like immigration, voters rights, First Amendment violations, etc. I remember years ago a friend telling me about a kitchen fire at a fast food place, and even as the firemen tried to clear the site, oblivious patrons came in, wanting to order meals. They wanted what they wanted, and they really didn't notice anything else. Like fire trucks.
Many of us live really small lives, apparently. Some of us do lift our eyes up to see more than a full belly, shelter, and a means to survive. But a lot of us really don't. When we do, oh, what a world there is.
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2 comments:
I see kids all the time walking together, each with their own headphones--somehow that seems worse to me than a phone call, they aren't communicating with anyone.
Don't feel bad if you can't find a chat room you enjoy--The concept doesn't work for me at all, even when the actual content is good.
When there's an idiot doing something stupid in traffic, I can see the problem, and I know who to swear at. When it is a government, the target is too big and diffused to target accurately.
Excellent comments. At least when kids used the old boomboxes, they all enjoyed the music together (unfortunately with a few too many of the rest of us.)
And you are right; it is refreshing to glare at one idiot motorist, and even, in the privacy of your car, scream, "You idiot!" KISS. Unfortunately, very little about life seems to be so these days.
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