The 21st Century

At least once a semester I send my students outside to write about what they see, smell, hear, touch, and taste (if they eat!).

I just sent my students out and I'm waiting to hear back from them. One of the students left with his laptop. The other students were teasing him about dragging his computer out to write, and I joked with him a little too. He responded to the teasing with, "It IS the 21st century." He was turning as he spoke and didn't hear my response. I replied, "Tragically so."

There's a part of me that longs for life before the ubiquitous presence of phones, laptops, and handheld devices. You really could be with a person and just be with that person alone.

I sometimes feel sad that the generation just ten years younger than me does not know what life was like without the Internet. But for all my nostalgia I would not go back. I like what I read once about people who long for the past. The author suggested that nostalgic people go home on a hot August day and turn off their air conditioner.