An Alien's Observation

[Stephen Torelli]

Not long ago we observed the young, old, and in-between parade down Madison Avenue… heads held high with polished clothes and looks that kill. Some pranced, others strutted and a few sauntered, but the swagger was a show to watch… hair combed, hats proudly roosting, colorful and stylish apparel draped beautifully upon warm bodies and a strange phenomenon known as smoking. They were also adorned with an assortment of sparkling jewels and stylish shoes or sneakers to match as we secretly watched the well-to-do and wannabe earthlings. 

Yet today, the aura is missing, heads are not held high, shoulders not erect and the sauntering, strutting, and prancing lack the swagger, and instead we observe stooping, bending, and crouching. So we took a hard look to find out why, and we found most natives are ensconced with texting, talking, listening to another world and not paying attention to the present, which causes the slanting, leaning, and bowing. Though it seems that texting took the place of smoking… “Hey bud, you want a cig?”

 

[Mike Handley]

You remember the old car-travel game called Spud, in which passengers look for and shout "Spud" whenever they see a Volkswagen Beetle? Or "Super Spud" if it's a red one? I changed the rules a couple of years ago. Now I do it whenever I see someone talking or texting while driving.

But I digress. I think hats "roosting" is a marvelous way to put it, Stephen. Marvelous.

[Teresa]

Phones are the new devil.  I count when I'm driving sometimes, the number of drivers with their phones in hand (not to the ear but perched on the steering wheel while texting).  Those talking on their phones are driving slower and less attentively as well.  I think we've encountered too much of a good thing here.  Nice post.