No talking needed

I was out and about last Saturday. It was a very full, very busy day. I had to get the car to the auto shop for a check-up, I had to run to meet a new friend at Starbucks to deliver some Sunday School material for Sunday, I had to get home and pack for a quick weekend getaway with my hubby, and then I had to get to a school fundraiser by noon. Needless to say I was busy all morning long. BUT, I was not too busy to notice a particularly disturbing trend in our society. No body talks any more. I was sitting in the waiting room of the auto shop. Now, five years ago, I would have read my magazine and engaged in some random small talk with the other women who were in the shop with me. "Why are you here?" "Isn't it ridiculous how much these visits to the shop cost" "How old is your baby"...and so on. But, this time everyone in the shop was on their i-phone or touch phone and did not talk to any one around them. The same thing happens at the line in the grocery store, or in a doctor's office, or when we are just too lazy to engage in small talk. No wonder people are socially inept and incapable of interesting discussions. Any time humans form into a line or have to wait somewhere longer than five minutes, out come the phones. I challenge you to look at the person in the car next to you next time you are at a red light. I will bet you $23.80 that the person will be checking their facebook or texting a friend using their phone. Just try it. We complain about feeling disconnected from our neighbors and co-workers and yet we force ourselves into that position by staying in our cyber-world!!! Break the mold...put down that phone!!! By the way, I am guilty of this too...the picture is me at my wedding rehearsal...and I am answering the phone. No one is immune. :)