Now That We're Evolved...

I’ve mentioned in previous posts that everyday I commute on the train to Union Station in downtown Los Angeles. For the past 11 years, I’ve slept every morning and eavesdropped every afternoon (my two favorite past times) on my ride to and from work. Recently, I woke up early from my train ride slumber to call my son and wish him a “Happy Birthday.” Since I couldn’t go back to sleep the last 15 minutes of the ride, I decided to practice my second favorite past time. Do you know what I heard? NOTHING. Not a peep of gossip; not a complaint session; not a tangled soap opera of deceit playing out for my personal enjoyment or righteous indignation. Now, mornings are normally slow because a lot of us try to grab a few extra winks. I can fall into a pretty deep coma on the train. I’ve missed my stop more than once and had to be picked up in San Bernardino. Occasionally, I’ve snorted so loud I woke myself up. A few times, I’ve tried to cuddle with the person next to me. Of course, once I wake up and wipe the drool off the corner of my mouth, I either blush and apologize if it’s a woman or blush and start talking about oil changes or sports scores if....(never mind).

Back on point. After saying, “Hello,” to darkness, my old friend, (Get it?) I started thinking about how my daily commute has changed over the years. Before there were little pockets of friends, quiet and chatting in the morning; laughing boisterously in the afternoon. Christmastime saw knitters, crotchetiers, and cross stitchers feverishly working on that last gift. (I tell you, these people were concentrating so intently and working so dedicately that if they were twenty year’s younger, I would have thought that Kathy Lee Gifford had a new Wal-Mart line coming out.) But still, through all of this they were chatting it up; freely giving advice or encouraging “You-can-do-it-” pep talks. This past holiday, they were still there but there was very little talking. Why, you ask? What has devastated this once social haven? Simple. The Ipod. That’s right Steve Jobs and his brand of techno-fruit are responsible for the decimation of front-porch society on the Metrolink train. (Is it not bad enough that he is responsible for eliminating the use of pencils and paint brushes in Walt Disney cartoons?) People don’t talk anymore; they all listen to music. All of a sudden, everyone has to get their groove on. And I’m wondering, “When did that happen?” I suspect it was about the same time we all decided to carry around little bottles of water, or drive around in huge ugly military vehicles painted bright yellow that get 8 miles to the gallon. Social communication is on it's death bed. Visiting with your neighbor or egads talking to the person next to you and making a new friend is history. For the most part, people don’t talk on their cell phones either; instead, they text each other acronyms. Verizon doesn’t charge us to talk to each other (as long as you’re “in”) but they keep close count on the number of text messages you send. BTW ISH LOL (By the way, insert sarcasm here. Laugh out loud.). And face it, the only time socializing is going on, we're not talking to each other; we're talking into the Star Trek-Bluetooth do-hicky in our ears. I’m half-expecting someone to all of a sudden say, “Scotty, beam me up,’ and then disappear. And if they did wouldn’t that just be AGBS?! (a great, big shame)

I can't help but question, "Is this why we evolved?" I see where aposable thumbs are a definate plus, especially since that's what everyone is typing with; albeit, incorrectly spelled and without puctuation but "im nt juging." Correct me if I'm not understanding the story. We started out as single cell critters; evolved into monkeys; lost our tails and started walking upright; built the pyramids; discovered nuclear fusion; made Pauly Shore movies, and now we are so caught up in what's fast, easy and convenient that we're not connecting to each other. Where do I begin? Oh, I know. OMG!