Thursday Tidbits

Posted on February 22, 2018 under Thursday Tidbits with one comment

Coffee and conversation

 

In the year 5555,

Your arms hanging limp at your sides,

Your legs got nothing to do,

Some machine’s doin’ that for you.

In The Year 2525 – Zager and Evans

I’m seriously thinking of heading for the hills and crawling back into my cave.

While more than half of the population of the world struggles to find food on a daily basis, we in the west can simply pick up our smart phones and order our groceries on line and have them delivered to our door. Before you start accusing me of being a Luddite, hear me out.

I have no objection to having one’s groceries delivered to the door. The old IGA on College Street did that for a long time but it was mainly a service for people who were elderly or who didn’t own a car. But you can be damn sure of one thing: those old people got their arses out of the house and probably walked to the grocery store and actually had human contact. They chatted with the clerks, the butcher, the baker and most likely the store owner.

Now, Zager and Evans were no Lennon and McCartney but some of their words from this one hit wonder in 1969 were remarkably prescient. Are we quickly becoming the laziest species of all time where it is entirely possible to avoid all human contact? It sure seems like this some days.

Speaking of Luddites, I made my very first on line purchase from Amazon two weeks ago. I can see the appeal. Browse, click, pay and presto, my new microphone for recording “Live from the Beach” was at my doorstep. Before you accuse me of not shopping locally, I tried but couldn’t find this device that plugs into my iPhone. And yes, like just about every living soul in North Eastern Nova Scotia, I have ordered a Wheel pizza and had it delivered when it was just too comfy to stay put… or too stormy! The Wheel always finds a way to deliver the goods.

Shopping on line definitely has a huge appeal. You can do it any time of day or night from the privacy of your own home. Prices are usually reasonable and you don’t have to step outside and face the elements. I can see this being a big deal for older people who dread winter and icy conditions.

We are fast becoming a world of Zombies. We are so attached to our mobile technology that human contact is becoming a lost art. I won’t be around to read the studies but I feel fairly confident that the wide spread use of mobile technology will be shown to have serious long term health consequences. I have been watching the Olympics and every time they pan the spectators, everyone is looking at their cell phones. Why did they bother traveling to South Korea?

I don’t know about you, but my most pleasant times are still sitting face to face with actual humans in a “no cell phone” zone, sipping coffee and telling lies. ( Thanks Rob, Dan and Dave yesterday at Java Blend in Halifax ).

Here’s a novel idea. Leave your cell phone home. Drive or walk (another lost art) to a local business. Buy something. Talk to the salesclerk. You just increased your life span and that of your local community. If we continue to shop on line, which businesses will be left to support sports teams, arts groups and local charities? Think about it.

Or you can just get your club and head back to the cave with me. We can chat with Fred Flintstone and Barney Rubble. “ Yabba-Dabba-Do”!

Have a great weekend.