Times Have Passed Me By

I'm not even envious of these new contraptions. While they allow instant communications, so does a phone and in these days it's not even necessary to pay extra for long distance.

What is being missed though, is the life that passes you by while texting, adding to face book daily, or even all day, well you get the point. Cis Gors was right when she expounded upon this subject yesterday on her blog. (from a simple mind)These things are gimmicks that are not necessary to our well being.

Soon, our children, who we worry about what's happening in our schools and new legislation, will grow fat by skipping outdoor exercise for computers and other electronic devises. Already, health professionals are concerned with the amount of time kids spend in front of television sets. Now it's even more enticing to have the latest in communications. WHY, I ask, is it good for our kids to do these things. When I attended school it was with spiral notebook and number two pencils. You listened in class, took notes then spit the info back to the teachers.

Now the kids can just Google the info, print it out and submit it as learned information. As has been pointed out by other codgers, we survived biking without helmets, running through the house with scissors, and other outdoor feats, such as what still comes to my mind, the stupidest thing I've ever done. At around twelve, or maybe even younger, we had a giant fir tree that Dad had chopped many of the lower limbs off, leaving six inch stubs. I would climb that tree up to about 30 feet sometimes jumping for the next nub, because I wasn't tall enough to reach the next one. I developed great coordination, self confidence and a strong body. Only for an hour or two in the evening would the TV be truned on to such special stuff like Ted Mack's Amateur Hour, Or Meet the Press and not to forget the unforgettable Uncle Milty, Milton Beryl, the father of modern television.Oh and the picture was black & white.

We didn't have cable TV with it's 120 channels. We had three local stations which we accessed with a roof top antenna. I remember when KING TV was the only one in town. (Seattle)

Back to education reform, most if not all schools in our area have computer training. Since the kids spend the bulk of their time at home in front of the TV, it might just be that they would pay closer attention to computerized on-line classes. They are already a trained audience.