Beautiful Old Broads talk about texting

Dear Ones,

Bet you didn’t know that ringtones are so OVER.  Yes, those dulcet sounds that emit from your purse in the supermarket or the familiar notes that float up from your pocket while you’re walking are outdated.  Well, I didn’t know either but it appears the younger generation don’t use cell phones to talk.  They find that quaint and old fashioned.   Talking has gone the way of  video cassettes or the phone booth (remember those).  Now the major part of their communication is done by text.  Texting is the terse telling of some event or detail in your life in a few sentences and no ringtone is activated.  Just a slight burp.

I’ve texted occasionally and reluctantly, hampered by eyesight, glare, and keys tinier than pinheads that are on my cell phone.  And when I hear that burp, I can’t just pick up my cell and say hello.  I’ve  got to hunt for my glasses and then for some odd reason my creaky cell phone develops an appetite for texts and eats part of them up, never to divulge the contents  again. There is a use for texting.  Just not my use.  I can’t see why one can’t speak into the phone.  Much superior than telegrams

Remember telegrams.  As the story was told to me,  my father telegraphed my aunts in Ireland when I was born, though for the relatives that lived stateside, he choose the telephone.  He could transmit his happiness and assure mom’s family that she was well and he could give them details and answer their questions immediately. 

Mankind has strived to improve communication since the Indians sent smoke signals.  In 1837, Samuel Morse sent this message across the telegraph wires.  “What Hath God Wrought”.  Could he have envisioned the Internet and e-mail and texting?   Indeed, he might have said this time around, “What have humans wrought?” 

I write this at the risk of being labeled a Luddite but heck, I’ve been called worst things and I was heartened to read I’m not alone in my aversion to texting.  Here’s what a champion football coach from Alabama says, “If you can’t see someone face-to-face and look them in the eye, the next best thing is to call somebody and have a conversation.  It’s a lost art today.”  According to Pew research, teens sent an average of 60 texts a day in 2011 and that number is growing like apps on an i-pad.

Whew!  We need to talk.  That’s what connects us and comforts us..  So keep those ringtones singing in your purse and call me soon.  Please.

      “The whole art of life is knowing the right time to say things.”  Maeve Binchy