Siggy's Blurbs: Siggy's Edge of Country …

We have become dependent on cell phones.  I remember a few years ago we were having a family reunion at a park somewhat equidistant from one sister and our house.  I remember my other sister expressing some reservations about meeting there:  she was concerned about getting cell phone reception there.  Almost everyone has a cell phone today and check it constantly.  Most people can’t conceive going anywhere with out.  In fact, others get somewhat nervous and anxious when they don’t have one with them or they are in a “‘dead” zone and have no reception.  All you have to do is go to a mall:  most of the teenagers have their cell phone glued to their ears as they walk around and shop afraid they will miss something.  I think it is downright impolite to be sitting at a restaurant and the person with you takes a call.

Tags: cell phone and manners, cell phones, cellphone and communication, family reunion, my sisters, our dependency on cell phones, teenagers
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No matter which way I go I hit an hill.  One way I encounter a steep incline, the other way I get a steady climb.  It is .8 mile around my block.  I walk “Tilla” one of my dogs.  He never refuses a walk.

I never forgot the time I was camping with my friend Chuck two summers ago.  There was a trail nearby (about a third of a mile) which led to the fishing pier on the lake.  Two summers ago I walked up it (it is all uphill) and in the heat and exertion I threw up three times.  It was not pleasant.

This summer I was determined to get into better shape and recapture my wind.  I never liked exercise for exercise sake.  Most people don’t.

I still get a little winded when I go up the hills.  This time I keep going.  I am thrilled my wind is returning and “Tilla” always comes running when he hears the jangling of the metal leash.

I also started shooting hoops by myself.  I have always enjoyed basketball.  I was not foolhardy enough to challenge any of the teenagers one on one.  It is amazing how a little exercise done regularly can change your conditioning.

Tags: basketball, camping, Chuck, climb, conditioning, dog, dog leash, dog walking, exercise, exertion, fishing pier, friend, get in shape, heat, hill, incline, lake, my wind, pets, shoot hoops, summer, teenagers, threw up, Tilla, trail, uphill, winded
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The question posed by the title seems odd: it is a paraphrase from the book “Walden” by Henry David Thoreau. The exact quote states “We do not ride on the railroad; it rides upon us.”

This book was written over one hundred and fifty years ago. Thoreau later on the same page asks, “Why should we live with such hurry and waste of life?”

His statements are more apropos than ever. We live in a world of instant communication. A tragedy in a different part of the world thousands of miles away occurs and the news reports it right away.

If you go to a mall you would think the cell phones of teenagers are glued to their ears.

What Thoreau was asking was do we use the technology at our disposal usefully or does it control us. This question is more relevant than ever before today.

In the days of sophisticated cell phones (and computers) that can almost do anything you have to ask is it all necessary. Teenagers got along fifty years ago without cell phones (and parents still kept track of them).

Not too long ago I was in a car that was navigating by GPS and its directions were wrong and the driver almost did not believe I knew the right turn to make.

You have to wonder how much true communication is really taking place? I still prefer talking to others face to face. Yes, I will use a cell phone occasionally. Nevertheless it does not run my life.

Now every household has a computer, multiple cell phones, a microwave and all kinds of other technology. And I do not care that cell phones can almost do anything except dance.

Thoreau was really asking another question, also, the need to go faster and faster and no one asks the questions why is this speed so necessary and why do we want to go there. We can fly across continents quicker than ever before but so what.

The world has become smaller but not really. True communication is usually not instantaneous. The new technology has not really made this any easier. It only gives the illusion it is. And don’t be fooled. It takes commitment and effort to truly understand another human being.

Tags: "railroad rides upon us", cell phones, communication, computers, does technology control us, go faster and faster, God, GPS, Henry David Thoreau, microwave, parents, such hurry, talking to others face to face, technology, teenagers, true communication, Walden
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