Friday Five, just for Fun

From RevGalBlogPals:

Yesterday I had two separate conversations in which people were musing about how much change is occurring. The WW II generation, of which my mom is a part, went from horse and buggy to automobiles, saw the lessening, or even the end of many diseases, went from widespread use of kerosene lamps and outhouses (in the country, and most folks were rural)) to a totally electrified and plumbed society. The fastest means of communication was a telegraph. The second conversation--gulp--was about MY generation and how much change occurred in the last half of the 20th century. The person said his 13 year old had not seen a vinyl record album until a few days before, couldn't remember a time without cell phones, and on and on.

As for the questions!


1. What modern convenience/invention could you absolutely, positively not live
without?
I have to admit that it is hard to live without email. It is so nice to have a message from a friend when you least expect it, at any moment of the day that you happen to check. The disadvantage is that messages you don't want to see are there at any moment of the day as well, and those are often the ones that have to be answered even when I don't want to!


2. What modern convenience/invention do you wish had never seen the light of day?
Why?
My inclination is to say cell phone, but there are too many conveniences included with the annoyances. I might have to say cable television. What a supreme waste of time, and an incredible influence on our society's thoughts and desires. There are certain things that I would rather not be so easily accessible.


3. Do you own a music-playing device older than a CD player? More than one? If
so, do you use it (them)?
Well, my stereo has both a CD player and a cassette player, but I don't really use either of them. Thank you, mp3 player!


4. Do you find the rapid change in our world exciting, scary, a mix...or something
else?
A little bit of everything. There are definitely exciting things happening--like the end of certain diseases (though there are new ones that take their place) and the instant communication we have. But I think it also places a great deal of pressure on each of us to know what is going on and how to use the latest technology (which will, of course, be obsolete in about 30 seconds).


5. What did our forebears have that we have lost and you'd like to regain? Bonus
points if you have a suggestion of how to begin that process.
I think we've lost time and silence. I teach college students: they simply do not know how to be silent, at least not without their ipods and cell phones in their ears. That makes things like prayer, studying, self-reflection really hard. We each need a little more space to figure out who we are, and what will make us happy. How do we begin the process? I'm happy to say that I have given away my tv...that's a start. (Though I still can watch dvds on my computer.). And I think making time each day for silent prayer -- even if it's only 10 minutes at a time. I think everyone also needs to make sure they spend time with other people, in person, every day, not just on the phone or over facebook.


Those are my thoughts. What do you think?