I'm sitting at the Seattle (SEATAC) airport. Because the closest airport to my home is Fresno, I have to wait several hours to catch my flight. This affords me the opportunity to entertain myself with no other obligations vying for my attention. Below are my observations, in order of appearance in my brain.
iPhones - Nearly all people just play with their phones. Are they trying to look busy? Important? Or, are they playing games? I can remember when everyone read books while killing time. Even when not traveling, I notice at restaurants and other places that the slightest of idle time is used for screen watching. This bothers me, even though I too am guilty. I've always perceived myself as a proponent of cultural changes. I absolutely love change. However, this staring at a rectangle indefinitely is pulling at my sensibility. I see it leading to a lesser ability to artfully interact which leads to a breakdown in something or rather. I'm sure this isn’t good for us people.
Eye Contact & Chit Chat - neither seems as prevalent. You can bet that if you are in a room that has older people, you can walk up to them and strike up a random conversation much easier than you can with a younger person. I love love love to talk to veterans. They are the most well-mannered, interesting people in the world. Their manners are exhilarating. Their thoughtfulness refreshing. There is no wonder why we named them 'the greatest generation.' Those people rocked. I'm sad that we've lost that poise and compassion as a culture.
People Watching - Not one person. Not one. Is people-watching. I've been here for a cumulative of 11 hours and have not located one person who is simply sitting and watching others. Now they watch screens.
Every female under 40 - they all seem to have the same inflections in their voice. Travelers and maybe affluence? Or generational? I don't know, but their voices sound the same in terms of laughter, sentence structure and tempo. Not judging here at all, just observing. I find it kind of funny.
Tolerance - The fact that we have so many rules doesn't seem to bother anyone. The myriad of rules and the feeble attempt for the general population to follow them, is just crazy. I wonder what our forefathers would have thought of this? If we have anything threatening, such as a knitting needle, more than 6 ounces of aerosol spray and even our SHOES. Our shoes. Confiscated or questioned as we try to board our plan. Remember when we could all go to the gate and kiss and hug our loved one good-bye when they boarded a flight? Or be at the gate when they de-planed? Remember the line of people waiting for their loved one to come through the door at the terminal? Bin laden won. We've lost our freedom. What good is freedom if we're so afraid that we put ourselves through this? No one even objects. Instead they say, "oh well as long as our flight is safe, it's worth it.' Do you feel safer? I don't. I just want my freedom back.
Just had to stop writing to talk to an older woman who struck up a conversation with me. She's heading to Alaska to see her daughter and granddaughter. She proved my point about older people and the art of conversation. She has no iPhone sitting next to her. She's simply sipping her soup and visiting with others. I have no idea why this has suddenly become important to me. Oh funnier, I just glanced at her and she is texting from her non-smart phone in the old-school way where you have to hit the button three times to get to the letter you want. Boy that was a pain.
Called my flight. Ciao.
iPhones - Nearly all people just play with their phones. Are they trying to look busy? Important? Or, are they playing games? I can remember when everyone read books while killing time. Even when not traveling, I notice at restaurants and other places that the slightest of idle time is used for screen watching. This bothers me, even though I too am guilty. I've always perceived myself as a proponent of cultural changes. I absolutely love change. However, this staring at a rectangle indefinitely is pulling at my sensibility. I see it leading to a lesser ability to artfully interact which leads to a breakdown in something or rather. I'm sure this isn’t good for us people.
Eye Contact & Chit Chat - neither seems as prevalent. You can bet that if you are in a room that has older people, you can walk up to them and strike up a random conversation much easier than you can with a younger person. I love love love to talk to veterans. They are the most well-mannered, interesting people in the world. Their manners are exhilarating. Their thoughtfulness refreshing. There is no wonder why we named them 'the greatest generation.' Those people rocked. I'm sad that we've lost that poise and compassion as a culture.
People Watching - Not one person. Not one. Is people-watching. I've been here for a cumulative of 11 hours and have not located one person who is simply sitting and watching others. Now they watch screens.
Every female under 40 - they all seem to have the same inflections in their voice. Travelers and maybe affluence? Or generational? I don't know, but their voices sound the same in terms of laughter, sentence structure and tempo. Not judging here at all, just observing. I find it kind of funny.
Tolerance - The fact that we have so many rules doesn't seem to bother anyone. The myriad of rules and the feeble attempt for the general population to follow them, is just crazy. I wonder what our forefathers would have thought of this? If we have anything threatening, such as a knitting needle, more than 6 ounces of aerosol spray and even our SHOES. Our shoes. Confiscated or questioned as we try to board our plan. Remember when we could all go to the gate and kiss and hug our loved one good-bye when they boarded a flight? Or be at the gate when they de-planed? Remember the line of people waiting for their loved one to come through the door at the terminal? Bin laden won. We've lost our freedom. What good is freedom if we're so afraid that we put ourselves through this? No one even objects. Instead they say, "oh well as long as our flight is safe, it's worth it.' Do you feel safer? I don't. I just want my freedom back.
Just had to stop writing to talk to an older woman who struck up a conversation with me. She's heading to Alaska to see her daughter and granddaughter. She proved my point about older people and the art of conversation. She has no iPhone sitting next to her. She's simply sipping her soup and visiting with others. I have no idea why this has suddenly become important to me. Oh funnier, I just glanced at her and she is texting from her non-smart phone in the old-school way where you have to hit the button three times to get to the letter you want. Boy that was a pain.
Called my flight. Ciao.
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