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DAVID BENTLEY'S WEEKLY COLUMN |
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REACH OUT AND TOUCH SOMEONE
Remember the old television commercials exhorting us to "reach out and touch someone" by placing a long distance phone call? Those commercials always contained sentimental scenes designed to tug on our heart strings and make us immediately pick up our phones; and they worked. Today we think nothing of reaching out to touch someone multiple times on any given day, but perhaps that's part of a bigger problem. I vaguely remember when long distance phone calls could only be placed by a telephone operator. Before dial phones, we picked up the receiver and waited for the operator to answer and place our calls. Then dial phones allowed us to dial local numbers, but we still needed operators to place long distance calls. Eventually, automated switching systems made it possible to dial long distance directly without operator assistance. Now, with digital phones, multiple long distance service providers and telephone calling cards, making long distance phone calls is as simple as touching a series of numbers on a digital key pad. Other technologies have further improved our ability to communicate. Cell phones have made Dick Tracy's two-way wristwatch radios seem truly comical. Unimaginable less than 40 years ago, e-mail has made the whole world smaller. Now, the ability to make calls, send text or photos, and retrieve e-mail through cell phones has made us accessible to one another 24/7. And that's the problem. You see, with the wonderful advantages that have come through all of this technology, we seem to have forgotten one invaluable piece of information. Each and every one of our modern day gadgets has an "off" switch. That means that while we can be connected all the time if we choose, we can also choose to take a break. On this Labor Day weekend, may we all take a break from our labors, turn off a few of those switches and enjoy the real meaning of "reach out and touch someone" by giving each other a few old fashioned hugs.
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SAN JUAN ISLANDER © 2008 |
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