Bring Back the Good ol' Days!

Is the computer age really that good? Whatever happened to the expressions, "I'm going out and play?", "Sorry, I couldn't get to a phone," and "Hi, I'm so-and-so and I'm happy to serve you?"? They're pretty much gone the way of the dodo bird. We ask ourselves why the economy stinks but we refuse to blame ourselves. We've become a lazy nation with less and less ambitions. Our children and grandchildren would rather sit in front of a monitor all day than go outside, hit a ball around and get some exercise and fresh air. Have you seen the size of kids today?

Does everyone really have to have a telephone to their ear? I grew up without cell phones, blackberries and even answering machines and it made me a bit more creative when allocating time for work and play. MADD is after drunk drivers and rightfully so, but what are the numbers related to accidents where the drivers were sober but talking on their cell phone or even texting. Just when I thought putting on your makeup or eating a donut was permissable while driving, along comes the computer age. I mean, where the hell is Superman going to change?!!! "Sorry, I couldn't get a signal or you're breaking up," has replaced "sorry, I couldn't get to a phone." Am I THAT old fashioned? Is the world leaving me behind?

We're killing jobs by having computers take over. Do you shop online? Why? Convenience? Are we getting that lazy we can't even go to a store? What ever happened to service with a smile? Perhaps it's time to put some I.T. people out of work and go back to thinking and hustling for a living. My wife and I went to the same bank to make a deposit the other day. She is a bit younger than me and made her deposit using the computer (aka ATM). I went inside and made a similar deposit in person with a teller. A smile, a thank you, and 'have a nice day' all came into play. The very next day, my wife and I went to make a cash withdrawal from the ATM to head out of town. Her money was credited and mine wasn't. When I went inside to complain, the teller and manager, who knew I was in just the day before, said my deposit wasn't credited but my wife's (which took a different route) was. How was that possible? After all, I had two witnesses that saw me put the cash into the account. I had my deposit slip in hand. They (the bank manager) blamed it on the computers. I blame it on businesses that allow computers to run their companies.

Next time you buy groceries ask the cashier what the price of anything is. They don't know! To top it off, if the computer goes down while you're in the middle of the transaction, the cashier wouldn't know how much change to give you. People can't add or spell without the help of a computer. What has happened to us?

In closing, is this something that can be fixed in post? Please, someone invent a time machine and put me on the waiting list. However, for now, please help by doing your part. Buy and actually smell the flowers at a florist, read a book at a library, buy a newspaper at the stand (and say hello to the man who sells you the paper), but most of all, at LEAST go to a movie and purchase your tickets at the window - ask the person who sells you the ticket if he/she has seen the movie and what they thought of it!

Thank you for letting me rant. My wife made me start blogging as a sort of therapy - I think it might actually work!

...and CUT!