10 Sep Quadruple Bar killed the Romance Star
The Cell Phone. The Electronic Leash. Now, we can be found everywhere. Our long quiet drives between appointments are filled with returning calls and scheduling appointments.. or maybe just catching up with some folks we miss. Our driving meditation has been excised from our daily lives. Constant input. We are miraculously surviving in a state of constant input.
I wrote a short story once. (okay, maybe more than once) about a future America when the average mortality rate dropped substantially to an average of 46. Ten-years before a scientific study proved that television watching was indeed a form of meditation. That is was the television, not medicine and science, that was causing folks to live longer. With the high level of stress in the world- folks lived longer because they went home and ‘meditated’ every night to pulsing light for at least 3 or 4 hours. Folks were amazed about this founding and many were excited. Wow, something that is good for you and a habit too.
Things changed, almost dramatically. The parks became busier… the streets full of more people.. stoops had people in the swing after work. There seemed to be a little bit of a buzz in the air. As soon as it was discovered that TV was good for Americans- Americans stopped being interested in it. There were TV studios opening up everywhere to encourge more watching. Folks set their alarms and dragged themselves to the Birkrum TV Station to watch in a hot environment… to a 24-hour TV Station to watch when they got done with their night job and TV Boot Camps to force feed those who really needed it.
Suddenly, the average age at death plunged below 50. With out the TV Crack, that ended up being like Wheat Grass, folks got weird diseases, heart attacks and strokes from the stress of the world.
We do not have television in the house. My sister says I am missing a lot of learning by not having the glowing box. True, when I visit a hotel, i sit glued in front of the tube.
Is technology good for us? I wonder if all of this technology is destroying romance. I know a lot of people who have dialed while drunk (not a good idea) or butt dialed someone (not a good idea if they listen to a conversation you do not wish them to hear) And these examles are not what I mean.
I mean those long romantic chases. Suddenly realizing in your New York 6-story walk-up that you are in love with your husband. Throwing on a brown suede jacket on a brisk February New York day to find him… running all over town ..through the village…calling his name.. Paul… Paul… finding him.. your stuffed shirt, uptight, conservative husband in Washington Square Park, dancing around.. Barefoot in the Park. (What makes this super cute is on a past date he wouldn’t take his shoes off in the park with you. )
You fall in love again. The sunsets on your kisses.
If this were 2006, he would have dialed while drinking and interupted your romantic quest for him.. he would have reminded you why you shouldn’t be looking for him in the first place.. and you would have never known about his naked tootsies. You would have packed up your stuff, slept on the couch of a friend for a few weeks and went about your life.
Video killed the Radio Star? Nah. It never came to pass. Technology has taken a bite out of romance… and caused a few of us to wake up hung over with our head in our hands checking our cell phone call history praying we didn’t actually make that call. Only to find we called our ex 17 times in one-hour with the average call time at least 3 minutes.
There are times when verbal communication is not the right thing to do.
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