How did we ever get along?

Without...

• the Internet
• wireless connectivity
• microwave ovens
• fast food
• frozen dinners
• air conditioning
• satellite tv
• remote control
• Ebay
• Amazon.com
• dexonline
• frappuchino
• online shopping
• online legal forms
• online research
• email
• instant messenger
• video
• digital cameras
• cell phones

I guess people cooked their own food, took sack lunches, went to the library, wrote letters, drank Folgers, talked to their friends, and waited. Waited in restaurants while their food was prepared, waited while film was developed, made appointments with their attorney, used pay phones, took 8mm films, read books, used a phone book, walked if the car broke down, talked to their neighbors, planned meals ahead of time, went to auctions...

Imagine a world where cell phones didn't ring. Imagine going on a trip and taking all the cash you need with you. Imagine getting your car serviced ahead of time to make sure you didn't break down. Imagine visiting friends rather than emailing them, doing research at the library rather than on the net...

Oh...I guess I don't have to imagine. If I think hard enough I can remember. Remember velvet ropes between lines at the banks? Remember walking around town all day without having to answer a phone? Remember driving without worrying about breaking down, vacations without the internet? Remember time to think and dream and be? Most of those I still have, but I'll take mine with a venti mocha lite frappuccino. I'll take walks on the beach without cell service. (Hooray!) But the library? Stacks of books with a return date? (A return date I nearly always miss, costing me so much in fines that I might as well have gone to Borders to begin with.)

For a night, take the kids, a blanket or several, flashlights, sleeping bags, go out in the back yard and spend a night showing the kids the stars. If your yard is in the city, you might need to drive out in the country a bit first, but it'll be worth it.