Addicted

I received an email from a dear friend this morning about a devise that looks like a pepper mill, indeed is a functional pepper mill, but is actually a devise that when activated will shut off all electronic devises in the house including television.

What a classic idea.

I am old and I am about to tell you how old.  When growing up my Dad got off of work at 5 pm.  Unless he had to stop at the feed barn or run another errand for my Mom, he would be home at 5;05.  My mother would have supper on the table and ready for him to eat when he got there.  We would sit and eat and the TV would be off.  Of course in that day and age there was not much worth watching as it still is with more than 200 available cable channels to choose from, from 5 to 5:30.

The National news was the first to come on at 5:30 and that was the only exception to having the TV on during meal times.  The local news, local being the city 75 miles away, would come on at 6.  Besides the ten o'clock  news that was it for news broadcasts until 6 am the next morning.

Meals were a good time for us.  We didn't talk that much as I recall but being together with few distractions was wonderful in and of its self.

Then came cell phones.  We became fascinated with being able to take calls, text, and surf the web from something that didn't even have a cord.  For my generation it was almost magical in its function.  We focused so much on getting to know everything that that graham cracker sized piece of electronics could do that we soon developed a habit, in short became addicted.

We wanted to know, and know now.  We talked/played/surfed on it until we fell asleep from exhaustion and woke up sometime later with the phone on our stomach, at which time we just had to check our mail.  Not only did we use it as an alarm, we checked it again for messages as soon as the alarm went off for the second or third time.

Now our kids think it is normal to do this, and if they are not on it five minutes after hanging up they complain that they have no friends.

In the mean time we we have lost the good times of just being together without a phone glued to an ear or music blaring in an ear bud, or texting constantly, or LOL'ing at posts on social media and updating our status from 10 minutes ago.  I think it time for something to happen to bring those times back.

Pepper any one?


Until next time....................