Remember When...

Stomping around NYC this week. Funny how life got so busy... I remember the days when I lived here with nothing to do but take my journal to a cafe and sit and stare and write and daydream. This was before electronics took over our world. This was when cell phones made and received calls and nothing else. There was no texting, blogging or checking email away from home. There were no smartphones or ipads. My laptop was about 7lbs and typing my thoughts on a lit-up screen felt like such a betrayal to the art of writing that I would wear out my right hand by long hand-ing it for hours at my favorite little spots in the city, most of which have long since been replaced by a Kinkos or Cosi's.

Somewhere along the way I stopped journaling. I used to write songs almost daily, but I lost track of that too, somehow. Instead, I check my twitter account and catch up on my netflix queue and, if all else fails, play FlightControl on my iPad (which, I'm sorry, still sounds like a maxi pad to me and I really think they should have given more consideration to naming this thing...iTab?)

Anyway, I had a great dinner with friends this evening at a NY fav (Sfolgia on 92nd & Lex) and it made me miss the days when it was rude to have your cell phone out at a social gathering. Like, how about we just look each other in the face for a few hours and drink wine and laugh and let the people who text us just wait a minute!? Right?

Well, here I am, typing all this for my blog on my computer at quarter past midnight in a hotel room with the TV on. I've somehow become a product of my generation in many ways. Does is help that I still watch I Love Lucy & Bonanza over breakfast in the mornings? Does it help that I still write actual letters to people? I sometimes I think my kid will be the only one in her school who knows the names Doris Day and Cary Grant.

What can we do? How can we fight against the mindlessness of GenerationME and encourage kids to get off their computers and kindles and read a book, read a book, read a motherf&*ckin' book!?

I got this blog from Bethany Joy Galeotti, who you should check out! She's amazing! http://www.bjgofficial.com/ But I completely agree with everything she wrote. Even as I sit here and type up my new blog I myself have fallen into the world of technology head first. It makes me think & I'm going to make it a point to write in my journal more. I have tons of notebooks from my younger days & love looking back at them. I want to be able to have ones from my 20's as well! Inspired! :)