Have we changed? Could we still survive in the woods, away from civilization?
So, what happens to us when faced with habits and rituals we are not accustomed to?
What happens if we are here in this park in the middle of winter and we see this sign?
(Somebody thought the same thing. Hence, the next sign, guiding the visitor to the closest facility.An afterthought, I'm sure!)
It wouldn't bother me to find a hidden spot and take care of my needs in an emergency. I have vague memories of such occasions as a child. But my grandchild would not know that in an emergency, you take care of your needs expediently and not fuss and upset anyone. My grandchild would panic. Not even out with camping buddies she ever had to heed mother nature, naturally. She always had a contraption with fresh toilet paper.
I do wonder how and when we will forget to pick up real paper and write with a real pen.
Or, soon, pick up a real book, and hold it close, go back and forth from front to back page before
deciding to purchase it, unaided, without any warranty or recommendation, just because that tome had spoken to us, whispered a promise only we heard loud and clear.
I'm not rushing to buy a nook or a kindle. Or read the papers on line, for that same reason.
I'm going to sit down this weekend and write in long hand.
Cause I can!
Cause the word cause will be my choice and no program will under-red it and demand my attention.
Cause I still control what thoughts I share.
I'm not in a rush to buy a kindle either...but I am in a rush to figure out how to publish on kindle!
ReplyDeleteI do like writing on the computer, but even though I have a Kindle and appreciate it in certain circumstances (like going to the Rain Forest for 3 months), books have spoken and continue to whisper their promises to me and I'm in their thrall.
ReplyDeleteI love books, but these days I love my Kindle, too. I can increase the type size on it and read far more comfortably than I have in years. It's very easy on old eyes.
ReplyDeleteI love writing in long hand. I sometimes feel, internet has led to me ignore my personal journal, the hard bound book that has been my companion for many, many years. Technology has its virtues, and vices.
ReplyDeleteI very much like the aesthetics and kinesthetics of books (smell, sound, feel, ohhh) and writing longhand. However, with carpal tunnel my hand/wrist gets tired quickly, and I don't have the control I used to. I still like to draw, but writing is tiring. I do also love to see the blank white page of a new Word document as much as a blank journal page.
ReplyDeleteThoughtful post!
ReplyDeleteI want to raise a daughter who is resourceful - who can look beyond google and her ipod to find the answers. To do that, she needs to be out in the world - in nature, in the city. She needs to experience life beyond a screen.
Yes, experience life beyond the screen is what all of our children need. Well put, Marion
ReplyDeleteRuth, that's just the thing, the feel of the words easily found on a page, underlined, memorized. Whatever I write on this screen seems too fluid, ephemeral.
SG, we used to sew, cook, till the land, plant, just for our survival. I guess these tools will help us survive and produce, yet...
Dianefaith, I might like that, the big print idea, the portability.
Grandmother, the friendship, the familiarity of books is just what I need, what I might miss. Yes, I guess, traveling with books would have its disadvantages.
Eva, when you figure that out, share it with us. There must be an app for that.
We spent a couple of days in Eugene, and in my favorite place, Barnes and Noble. Half of the front part of the store was devoted to Nook. Yes, displays and workbenches all set up to try the new product.
ReplyDeleteHubby got confused, looking for his science books that now didn't occupy the same space, and I got furious at the tiny space occupied by new fiction. It wasn't even called that. It was called 'recommended new authors' I think. Frankly, I want to peruse the shelves on my own, and read a few pages on my own, before I buy a book. If I want someone to recommend a new author to me, I'll ask.
p.s. I picked up and devouring:
1.Paul Harding, tinkers. (Lower case, intentional)
2.Tim O'Brien, The Things They Carried.
I'll be posting about these in a couple of days. Thanks for the visit.
yes! and so much more. we need to do so much more. we need to know how to build, how to garden, how to heat a home. we need to know. not hire out. we need to know. and we need to stop. we need to listen. we need to look. we need to speak to one another. we need to think.
ReplyDelete9 pm i said to my children, it is quiet time now. they said, but what do we do with our time? i said, you spend the time to discover what to do with your time. this reliance on things for entertainment, thought, and maintenance - it makes me shriek.
i often take care of my business in the woods. i do not care who sees what we all must do. and we all must stop and listen and look and learn. we all must use our quiet time to be thoughtful. my god, i am at a loss as to how we are living. when did we become too good to be human?
xo
erin
Erin, I can see lots of young people like you doing and reflecting, not too busy to trek through the woods, make their own contraptions.
ReplyDeleteI'm crying for my grandchild who would be lost on her own without her electronic devices, whose idea of preparing food is to stop at a drive-through.
The problem is a lot of people forget that these appliances and gadgets are 'aids' for our lives and not 'necessities'. We used to be warned about 'too much of a good thing' now we hear, 'you can't have too much of a good thing!' I do like my Kindle, though it will never replace books for me, just enhance the possibility of a good read.
ReplyDelete