In six decades, I have seen many changes, as most people my age and above will attest to. I started out watching television on a black and white TV set. I also served as the remote control when Dad wanted to change the channel. There were only two channels to choose from, unless the atmosphere and the antenna were just right, then there were three. I played outside for as long as possible and roamed the entire neighborhood without a care, or fear, in the world. Our first telephone was a party line and my best friends' phone number was 8....please do not ask me what I had for lunch yesterday.
In school, the curriculum included such subjects as how to address an envelope, how to introduce yourself, or someone else, to another person, how to write in cursive and how to be polite. When it was time for P.E., we actually changed our clothes and exercised our bodies with great gusto, running races, touching our toes or doing somersaults on a mat.
When I was old enough to get a job, I was taught by the owner of the establishment, what was expected of me and how to perform whatever duty I was assigned. If the job, and there were many, included working with the public, I learned early on the cardinal rule was, "the customer is always right"....even if they were not.
Fast forwarding to the present, there are few people who do not have a television, most of which are the new flat screen models, and they have over 300 channels to choose from on just about any topic the mind can fathom. If you happen to have a TV that is shaped like a large square and weighs a ton, no one wants it, even if it's placed out on the curb with a "free" sign taped to the screen.
Few, if any, people have a land line phone and most young children would not even know what one was, let alone how to use it. The cell phone has become an extension of ourselves and many believe it is as valuable as two arms and ten fingers. It has literally become a new body part. I still cannot get used to the people who use the headsets for their phone. When I grew up, anytime you saw someone standing around talking to themselves, it was a good idea to go in the opposite direction. Then there are the drivers on their phones. I thought it was scary, back in my rural area I call home, to meet cars on the road with the driver looking down at their lap. Here in the city, it is rare to find someone who is actually looking at the road.
Standing in the checkout line at a super big box store, I scanned over the rows of people waiting. If there were 50 people, 45 of them were on their phone. Many of whom stayed on their phone while placing their items on the counter and continued to chat while the cashier rang up the total. I watched the young mother and her daughter, who was probably about 7 years old, in front of me. The mother was in a conversation with some unseen entity with the use of her headset. She talked the entire time, even when the clerk tried to engage her in a conversation about her shopping experience. She was oblivious to the clerk and to her daughter. My first thought was how rude she was being and my second thought was the example she was setting.
The other day, I walked into a small business to purchase two items. I was the only person in the store except for the young man behind the counter. He was on his phone, with the speakerphone turned on. As I stood at the counter, he continued to talk. He finally walked over to me, smiled, informed me he was talking to his brother and asked what I needed. I told him what I wanted and as he apologized for being on his phone, he went to grab my items. I stood patiently, listening to his brother drone on about how his ex had shown up and caused a scene. The young clerk placed my two items on the counter, apologized again about talking on the phone, stating he did not get to talk to his brother very often, and rang up my items. I paid, took my goods and left the store while he continued on with his brother. I guess I should have stomped my feet and demanded his attention. I should have explained to him what 'customer service' actually meant and lectured him on how lucky he was to have a job, but I did not. I drove back home with thoughts of what kind of society are we becoming, swirling in my head.
No, I do not believe we can go back to a time when technology did not rule our lives and most people would not want to. But, I do have to go back to the store because when I got home, one of my items was the wrong thing.
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