the lost boys

Technology becomes so pervasive that we forget how to live without it.  Take cell phones for instance.  I've been advocating for one of my clients to be "bus-trained" so that he can ride the city bus independently.  However, I then discovered that his cell phone has been disconnected because he racked up over $1000 in downloads on it.  Therefore, I thought maybe it wouldn't be a good idea for him because he doesn't have a way to call and check in.  However, his home provider pointed out that we've survived as a species, all growing up and becoming independent and many of us didn't have cell phones.  He'll be fine so he gets to ride the bus on his own without a cell phone.

Today, we had a similar issue with Raven.  He didn't have his cell phone, we didn't know exactly where he was and we weren't quite sure what to do.  I drove around the street that he's familiar with to look for him.  We almost called the cops and then he came home.  He recognized some landmarks and was able to navigate his way back without getting real lost or needing a cell phone.

When I was a tad younger than him, I ventured from the go-straight-home-from-school plan and ended up hanging out with some classmates.  It was fun but ultimately I was unprepared for the independence.  Plus it was in Yankton, SD, a city that I hadn't lived in that long and was significantly bigger than Hartington, Nebraska.  I ended up wandering around town and finding my dad's work.  He had gone home already but our neighbor who was also a good family friend and my dad's co-worker was still there so she took me home.  I think I got yelled at but it didn't really impact me because I was already frightened enough to not do it again.

I'm glad Raven has more street smarts than I did at that age.  Technology may be a crutch but I think that it's rash to say that it's dumbing down a generation.  It becomes a crutch but it doesn't disable us completely.

What else?
Speaking of Lost boys, Jawyer is back!  Lost began it's last season last night and will prove to be my undoing for this quarter.  I had big plans tonight about getting my environment ready for some studying.  Instead, I watched the two hour premiere on Hulu.  I've got to keep that in check.

Also, I saw the guy from my last post.  He shaved his beard.  It's funny but that makes all the difference in the world.  I'm a big proponent of facial hair.  I almost wanted to thank him for doing it because it made everything a lot easier.  Either I wasn't crushin' as hard as I thought I was or I'm that shallow and have no interest any longer because he shaved.