Hang on to the things you value because we're moving at full speed ahead! The world has progressed from crank telephones to instant messaging in less than a century. We have gone from exploring neighorhoods on Big Wheels and bicycles to exploring the moon in lunar modules. Buggy whips are gone forever.
Boomers were raised with 'up-to-the-minute' things that are quickly fading from use and sight. I read in the newspaper this week that hundreds of US Post Office buildings will be closing their doors forever. Have you noticed the disappearance of those blue mailboxes that stood on every corner? Benjamin Franklin was the first US Post Master about 1775. It was the reliable means of transporting important words and documents. On September 15, 2011, it was announced 250 mail-handling facilities throughout the nation are slated for permanent closure. By 1220, the US Postal Service will have gone the way of the buggy whip. If you don't already have one, it's time to invest in a modern cell phone.
Newspapers and books will soon be a thing of th past. There is little point to retrieving your morning edition of the Herald, Post or Bulletin from your lilac bushes. It contains yesterday's news - the same news you saw on television last night or read about on your cell phone as it occurred. What was newspapers and book (print media) is now at your fingertips with computers, e-books, ePads, iPads and eReaders, etc.
In recent weeks instant messaging informed the world of the death of Apple's Steve Jobs. Electronic/Instant phones rallied large numbers of people to peaceful and not so peaceful causes. Cell phones with GPS have brought quick assistance to persons in distress. A 'down' side (as there is always more than one side to everything) of this speedy information is troublesome in that troublemakers have the same messaging access as the good guys. The worst-case scenerio is a communications system 'black out' - such an event happened (with Blackberry) in Mid- October, halting both business and personal cummunications for several days. Yet, we are speeding forward with e-devices in spite of obstacles. With easy access to personal data, profiles, GPS and cameras, individual privacy seems to be going the way of the buggy whip.
I recommend you enjoy all the items of nostalgia you can - while you can: TVs, CDs, games, books, or love letters. They may disappear in a 'poof' of innovation or fade away in a cloud of 'progress' as we move forward at full speed. I am still the dinasour with a land-line phone and Mozart CDs. I have a library of books but rely on Google, Yahoo and Wikipedia for instant research. As you can tell, I'm not moving at 'full speed ahead' but I am dancing as fast as I can!
How about you? How quickly are you adjusting? I'd like to know.
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