Less than two months ago I sat on a jet headed NE gazing down over the Rockies through the clouds. Now the jet’s headed SE, with the Rockies far below the clouds once again. Somewhere down there, a couple of centuries ago, Indians roamed along mountain trails, gazing upward through the clouds . . . what would they have thought seeing contrails stretch across the skies? . . . smoke signals beyond their wildest imaginations! The relentless rapidity with which transportation and communication have progressed is truly mind boggling. Technology has interconnected mankind worldwide.
But . . . in a quirky way (remember this is me writing :), I find myself pondering if technology has subtly disconnected us personally. Now don’t get me wrong, I prefer traveling 4,000 miles/day in a cushioned seat on a jet, munching pretzels and sipping ginger-ale as I type this vs. traversing 40 miles/day perched on a bouncing saddle strapped to a sweaty horse, knawing on a chunk of venison jerky.
But . . . I betcha’ Tonto and Cochise communicated on a much deeper personal level as they poked along the trails below than many of us do today, zooming along at 600 mph above the clouds while storing our important stuff in the cloud . . . e.g. . . .
Below the cloud dialog:
“Hey Tonto?”
“Yeah Cochise.”
“That rabbit fricassee feast your pretty little squaw served up last full moon was scrumptious. And, your new little papoose looks just like her . . . good thing.”
“Thanks brave. Pocahontas can boil bark and make it taste like fresh buffalo. As far as our little Geronimo’s looks go, next to you that horse you’re riding looks handsome.”
“That’s not funny Tonto.
“Hey, what’s that long, thin cloud in the sky?”
“Weird. Let’s talk about it around the campfire tonight after we etch a few petroglyphs together on this big rock.”
Above the cloud dialog:
E-mail – Hey Dude. The airlines really gouge you for this gogoinflight wifi. Just wanted to send off a quick shout out that The Fisherman’s Restaurant and Bar in Seattle is 5 star! You gotta’ try it next time you come through. Sure beats anything I’ve ever tasted coming out of your kitchen. Cool pic you sent of you, Ellie and your kid. I uploaded it to the cloud. Hey, what-da-ya think about all this climate change stuff? I’ll text you when we land.
Well, perhaps I exaggerate a tad. But . . . I wonder how much our daily e-mail, texts tweets, Instagrams, etc. technology time trumps meaningful face-to-face dialog time with others. Perhaps more ‘Outside the Cloud’ dialog is needed. Crazy Horse signing out 🙂
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Keep Looking Up (through all those clouds)
Abba's Art 