Can we get back to simple...

It seems that with every passing day, I long more and more for life to be simple again. Now mind you, I am not looking for Amish/Mennonite plain, but I feel like I am more and more "out of the loop" everyday. And, the strange thing is (strange to the rest of the world, anyway) I am embracing it. Allow me to explain...

Let's start with face-to-face conversation etiquette. When did it become OK to, in the middle of a face-to-face conversation, answer your cell phone, turn and walk away leaving the person with whom you were having a face-to-face conversation just standing there looking foolish? Is it just me or could that not be considered one of the rudest behaviors in the history of mankind? (OK, that last bit may have been a little dramatic, but you get my point.) I mean, for crying out loud, I am standing right here in front of you. What could be so freaking important that you stop mid-sentence with no explanation and answer a machine that apparently deserves more attention than a living, breathing human being?!

While we are on the subject, let's talk about the cell phone itself. Are you sitting down? Can you handle this? I have a cell phone, but I DON"T HAVE IT STRAPPED TO MY PERSON AT ALL TIMES!!!! I don't have it in my pocket and I don't carry it around. Do you know where I have it? I have it in my vehicle in case of emergencies, and it is charged about half of the time. And guess what? I still manage to get through my day at work, home, church, etc. without it. Can you believe it? In my humble and, I am certain, solo opinion, the cellular phone is the black plague of our times. It has infected the majority of the inhabitants of the earth, with the exception of Africa who is not far behind the rest of us. These pestulants are everywhere--causing car accidents, interrupting meetings at work, interrupting sermons at church, interrupting the overpriced movie you paid for, interrupting the face-to-face conversation you were just having....and that is just the ring and answer part of it. Then you have the actual talking.

But, the most annoying part of it all is the text message. Not only are we too lazy to get out a piece of paper and a writing instrument and write a letter, put it in an envelope, put a stamp on it, and mail it, nor can we have a face-to-face conversation, nor can we pick up a telephone and talk to someone, but we are going to open up this little, bitty machine and type in a bunch of abbreviations, not words, just abbreviations so we can communicate about things that are more than likely not even important in the large scheme of things. Soon, we will resort to grunting and pointing to communicate, but not in person, of course.

I know this sounds hypocritical coming from a guy typing on a computer into a blog, but at least I am using words (They may not be big ones, but they are words) and putting thoughts together. This is the only way that someone else may read this, since they no longer recognize penmanship and stationary, but only this mindless drivel called blogging...in cyberspace. It is not even a real place. You can't even leave it to ignore the conversation you are having with someone...

I'll be back to whine some more later...