Cell Phones: Can't live with them; can't live without them.

I love my cell phone it's a rather simple one, not one of those fancy blackberry models that have all the app's you want and then some.  My cell phone is just your basic model that allows me to take some photos and do some texting (I have become good at texting).  I find using my cell phone to be convenient and useful especially for long distance calling, it's used only when needed.  I try not to use it when I drive and I certainly don't text when driving.  So, here is the problem(s).  The other day when my daughter and I were driving into the parking lot of my local grocery store a women walks right in front of my daughter's car almost getting hit.  The woman was totally oblivious to what was going on around her because she had a cellphone glued to her ear in conversation.
Now, her conversation may have been very important but she like so many others who are constantly on their cells seemed to have lost all sensed of their surroundings and was not aware of where she was at the time.  She just stood there in the middle of the parking lot yapping away not realizing that she came close to being hit by a car.  The woman was in "never, never land"!  I 'm going to give this lady the benefit of the doubt and assume her conversation was of  importance but why didn't she just stand on the walkway or go to her car to have this conversation and be out of harms way!!  Anybody could have just come up to her, knocked her down  grabbed her pocketbook and ran off,  she never would have seen it coming. 
Don't misunderstand me now, I am really into this new technology and understand that this technology serves a good and useful purpose and makes life efficient for a lot of folks, but is everybody so important that they need a blackberry to check email or facebook postings every 2 minutes. Are they busy on their blackberry's pecking away merely to create the illusion to those around them that they are important people? Can't they wait until they get home or to the office to see what's going on?  Just walk through downtown Boston and see how many folks are texting, emailing,or talking on their cells while walking.  No one is looking around seeing what's going on.  No one is greeting one another or looking somebody in the eye as they pass.  Everyone is in their own little world. I love it when they almost walk into a pole.  Slowly but surely people are loosing their ability to interact personally with one another.  Let me give you an example, although an extreme one at that, but it illustates my point.  During the summer I work at a local concert venue.  At one concert there were these two thirty somethings whom I seated.  They barely said a word to each other but as soon as they were seated they each got out their blackberry's and began texting each other.  They were really yukking it up.  I knew they could speak the same language and neither had a speech or hearing impairment.  I just stood there and shook my head in disblief.  Although, this is an extreme example I really believe it's more often the case than not.  My fear is that kids (6-39) today are so accustomed to this new technology and rightfully so that they are not interacting, having face to face conversations with each other and developing the art of the personal touch.  What a shame.  Imagine someday going into a store and your phone buzzes with a message, "Can I help you?" and you stand there and look around and no one is there or when dinner conversations are played out over cell phones.

Well got to go.  Going to check my text messages.
Tell me what you think.

Why not me too!!

Well, I have joined the world of blogging.  I always laughed or joked about folks who blogged about things.  It always seemed to be self serving in many respects, that is until my two older children decided to start their own blogs.  After reading them I have to admit I was surprised at the quality of the content and writing.  After complementing both of them about their respective blogs they encouraged me to start one as well.  I balked at first not sure if I wanted to be so public about my thoughts and all.  My daughter suggested that since I was recently retired after 39 years in public education that I surely had some thoughts about the current state of public education or perhaps I could just write my thoughts about what it's like to be retired at 61 years old.  So, I did give it some thought and decided what the heck.  I do have opinions and thoughts about lots of things so I will put them down here for the world to see. Chances are I am most likely to tick some folks off but who cares I AM RETIRED! So stay tuned and let''s see where this blog thing goes.