Smart phones are everywhere; well, except for here. They were supposed to be here earlier this week to launch us into the 21st century, but we won't talk about that right now. I especially noticed that they are everywhere when we were in Nashville. People on the streets, people in the bars (or honkey-tonks as they're properly called), people in the resort and restaurants. Everyone is looking at their phone...all the time...even when conversing with others.
I know this isn't news to anyone; not even me. I found myself more than once reaching for my husband's phone to look something up while we were having a conversation. It is an annoying habit and I really think that people should start being more conscious of being on their phones when they are with other people.
However, that being said, I am eternally grateful that we had his smart phone because it helped us immensely when it came to finding the best route home through snow-laden Kentucky. We got up-to-the-minute posts from people trying to avoid the same interstate. We got an excellent recommendation on a detour that saved us from getting stuck in a backup. It even helped us on our trip down because the weather was bad then, too, and we were able to find a suitable detour when the traffic was stopped on the highway.
We looked up restaurant ideas when we were stuck in our hotel. We checked out Mass times and locations when we were downtown. We even found parking garages that were close to the restaurant we wanted so we could get pelted by the least amount of rain as possible.
As we finished up our trip, I got to thinking how it was ever possible to take a road trip and have to use a map to get your information. You were subject to so many unknowns. Does it even seem possible??? I mean, how did you know what to expect? How did you know where to eat or park or what time anything was? How did you find all of that out? I honestly can't remember what it felt like.
Or, because we didn't know any better, we just didn't care, right? When you don't know any different, you don't know what you are missing, so you can't miss it. Can you imagine, though, having to go back to the way it was? I envision an entire country going through all of the physical symptoms of withdrawal. It would be a horrible experience, but I'm wondering if, once we all got used to it again, would we like it better? Hard to say, isn't it?
I don't see us going back any time soon, do you? Until then, I'm going to (try to) wait patiently until my smart phone arrives and then try very hard not to let it take over my life, or at least my every waking moment. Like a lot of things, I hope to enjoy the good and not get sucked into the "bad". Here's to hoping :)
God Bless!
