The other day, Hub Man, his daughter and I went to visit his oldest daughter who lives a few hours away from us. The two sisters hadn't seen each other in many months because they live in different states now. We had a very nice day of it too.
But the thing that stuck with me most about our visit was something that happened late in the afternoon.
Oldest daughter who is a saleswoman, was working from home. She had her laptop on and was trying to figure out how to empty out her mailbox into a new folder because she could not receive any more emails and people were complaining, at the same time she was on the phone with clients trying to smooth out some ruffled feathers over a malfunctioning computer network. The other daughter was talking on the phone with her real estate agent because there was an offer on a house they were selling. Earlier, the agent had faxed her a copy of the offer. So she signed a counter offer and faxed it back while talking on the phone at the same time.
So there I was watching these two young women with phones in their ears and both of them were using other machines at the same time getting all sorts of stuff done. One of them had her jammies on. It was just such a "future shock" moment for me, I had to laugh.
Then on the drive home, younger daughter spent some time talking to her kids who were half a continent away. It still seems funny to me to be talking on the phone in the car.
The ubiquitous cell phone has really altered how people function in the world. You are never, well almost never, unreachable. Now this was working very well for the two daughters that day, but I wonder about the long term effects.
Will we feel lonely, empty, cut off, or anxious if our phone addiction was ever interrupted?
I went to the synagogue last night for a class. There were two young men there who were mopping the floor. One of them was talking to someone on his cell phone with one of those little headphone gadgets. I wonder if he was REALLY paying attention to his mopping?
Are we so afraid to be alone for a few minutes?
I don't have a cell phone. I don't want a cell phone. I suppose the main reason is the money. We already PAY for a phone at home. Why do I want to pay for ANOTHER one? Besides that, the darn things are too tiny. I can't even SEE the numbers on them without my glasses. I only use glasses for reading, so if I was driving and trying to dial my phone, I would most certainly have a collision. I know everyone seems to feel the tinier they are the better they are, but not me. If I had one, I would want something a little more substantial.
Boy do I sound like a Luddite today.
Ah well, no use trying to hide it I guess.
Rabbi Nachman of Breslov:
"Seek the sacred
within the ordinary.
Seek the remarkable
within the commonplace."