Distracted are we?

Portlandia another year...

I recall the lyrics of a Bruce Springsteen song included the phrase “fifty seven channels and nothing on” referring to Television.  Those were the days. Now I have hundreds of channels of TV and a nearly infinite number of web pages all calling my name. My phone practically tells me whenever anyone I have ever met burps and don’t get me started on my assortment of weather apps or electronic reminders.

Is it any wonder that with all these distractions we have basically mothballed our internal clocks and critical thinking?   We have gotten so used to being prompted to do things that unless a bell rings we forget.

On our Portlandia ride many of us didn’t eat or drink enough.  Were we too busy watching heart rate, grade and elevation on our devices to realize we were thirsty?   Were we too busy shifting forward to keep the front wheel on the ground to remember to eat?  Such was our lot in life.

Don’t get me wrong.  I’m all about the lists and electronic reminders but sometimes we find ourselves lost without them.  Kind of scary that we have grown so dependent. 

I remember Professor Truman telling us “The more you can do in your head, the more you can do.”  I think I got that quote right.  I had it written down somewhere but I can’t find it now and my memory fails me.  Oh well.  Just sayin’