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Placed in the KFC witness protection plan.

Good morning and welcome folks to another addition of the daily dialogue, and think about it as hearing the thud of a newspaper landing on your driveway, that is, back in the day, when there was enough materials covered along with advertising to make the thud sound. Nowadays it's so light it can only produce a skidding sound as it flies across the pavement. No more thud and in many cities and communities, no more newspapers. But, that too is a part of the electronic age where some things become obsolete while others prosper. It is Thursday, October 20, 2011, and it is good to have you here with me for the next few minutes. It took me a good long while to get to Facebook. I was not an early adopter. In fact, I was not a mid term adopter. I finally yielded to the pressure with so many friends and family, it just was no longer easy to resist. One of the good things about Facebook are the funnies you see now and then. I selected three from this past Tuesday's offerings because they did a number on my funny bone. I love this one and I can't explain exactly why. Maybe it's because I wake up some days and wonder if maybe I was put into a witness protection program. Or maybe its because it's just downright funny. Either way, try to smile, it will do a body good.

The next one was put up by a gentleman with the punch line being that it would be the type of cell phone his parents need. I know his parents well. They are from the same vintage of yours truly. I know that phone in the photo may be a joke in some quarters but I well remember that during Hurricane Ike when there was no electricity and many of the cell towers were out, folks were sure missing out on a plain old telephone. You know where the dial tone and the power to operate it comes from the line and often these remained in service while everything else was either spotty or kaput. No. I'm not trying to wax nostalgic about a rotary dial phone. I am just saying that while I am very pleased with technology that allows me to talk to mom and dad on their way to the doctor and on their way home, but at the same time I know there is also a place for the tried and true, and, being attached to a simpler way of life is not all bad. I heard recently that the average number of text messages sent or received on their cell phones by the American teenager exceeds 100 per day. And that's a good thing? Think about it. That is a lot of time. That is a lot of distraction. Is that photo beginning to look a little better? The first time I saw it I immediately wondered where I might get one. I'm all for progress but sometimes you have to slow down a little so you can figure out if what you are doing makes any sense.

The final one hit me as funny because of the computer video game craze that continues to dominate our culture. It shows Grandma using her video game controller to play a knitting game. Don't write me and ask where you can purchase that game. It's a joke. But to me it does show the transition that we all are making, regardless of our age, whether we go smiling or kicking and screaming, we are learning to live with a computer dominated world. On rare occasions when the internet is down I've had to resort to a very primitive form of communication. It is called handwriting. Seeing a page or two of written notes is almost like time travel today. The other day when Blackberry smart phones all failed because of network issues, millions of people were left decimated. Those phones were their very lifeline to all their contacts, all their schedules, and all their communications. It took several days for the parent company to get it all back online and I'm not exactly sure what people did. I haven't heard about any of them jumping off of buildings but I do know that some of them most likely had to go back and remember how to locate telephone numbers, how to write notes, and how to perhaps illicit the help of others in getting their stuff done. We recently heard about a situation where someone couldn't get a medical procedure done because the facility's computers were down. Okay. That says a lot my friend. That says a lot. But, maybe this photo of Grandma will inspire some of the game makers who mostly like to show people being blown to smithereens to do one that produces a wonderful knitted quilt. Don't hold your breath. Again, look for something to smile about whether it is on Facebook, or perhaps even closer to where you live and breathe. May God bless. Amen.          ......More later.