Impoverished Life
It has been freakishly beautiful here in Seattle this past week or so: bright blue skies, temperatures in the 70s and low 80s, a gentle breeze to cool things off and send the fragrances of blooming flowers wafting about; plus, we’re into the long days of the year: it’s light by 5:00 in the morning and the sun doesn’t set until after 9:00; anyone in his or her right mind (and who isn’t sitting in his basement typing away like a sorry loser at a 327-word essay that makes not a whit of difference in the world) should take every opportunity available these days to get outside and bask in the glory of nature’s beauty.
And indeed, most people are doing that: you see them everywhere—on the street, at the park, sitting in traffic with their windows rolled down—a veritable riot of sun-worshippers worshipping this amazing weather that we suffer through 300 days of cloud cover and rain a year to finally get to experience.
But what’s weird to me—and you knew I was getting here eventually—is how many of those same folks aren’t even looking up at the sky, the trees, or even the person next to them. Instead, they’re all staring at the little glowing boxes in their hands, squinting their eyes to read the tiny screens, missing out on Mother Nature’s abundance all around them to focus instead on another little machine that tells them what to do.
Of course, this is my requisite spring rant, where I complain about these kids today and their damn cell phones and end up sounding like the grouchy old man I continue to become more of with each passing year, but so be it: why in the world anyone would want to pay attention to their electronic leash when they could instead be awed by the awe-inspiring beauty of spring 2009, is beyond me, although, I’m still here in the basement, aren’t I?
And indeed, most people are doing that: you see them everywhere—on the street, at the park, sitting in traffic with their windows rolled down—a veritable riot of sun-worshippers worshipping this amazing weather that we suffer through 300 days of cloud cover and rain a year to finally get to experience.
But what’s weird to me—and you knew I was getting here eventually—is how many of those same folks aren’t even looking up at the sky, the trees, or even the person next to them. Instead, they’re all staring at the little glowing boxes in their hands, squinting their eyes to read the tiny screens, missing out on Mother Nature’s abundance all around them to focus instead on another little machine that tells them what to do.
Of course, this is my requisite spring rant, where I complain about these kids today and their damn cell phones and end up sounding like the grouchy old man I continue to become more of with each passing year, but so be it: why in the world anyone would want to pay attention to their electronic leash when they could instead be awed by the awe-inspiring beauty of spring 2009, is beyond me, although, I’m still here in the basement, aren’t I?
posted by Professor Dave at 6:28 PM
2 Comments:
Oh. I thought you were talking about how you feel now that our TIAA-CREF is so much diminished - but I guess that's just me, because June is a month where I pay quarterly taxes - and you don't. Posted while staring into my tiny glowing screen, but it's cold and cloudy in WI today.
At least you haven't spent every decent day trying desperately to salvage three years of musical recording because of a hardware failure.
Go outside and play.
Post a Comment
<< Home