Well, the weather in Arizona has finally done it. This happens for a day or two every year. I’m seeing many of my fellow Arizoners, native and transplant alike, wearing jackets. Yep, it got down to about 60 degrees this morn. Wow, thermal underwear just might be right around the corner!

I haven’t been up to the Rush Rush as often as usual these past days. Trying to shake up the old routine I’ve been going to the FEW coffee shop. That’s FEW as in Far out East West coffee shop which is attached to the FEW bookstore/gift store, yoga, meditation, and Tai Chi studios and seemingly an incense factory. If we can ban smoking in public places I say we go after incense next! But a pleasant and relaxing place it is. And it’s locally owned and operated so it’s right up my alley. However, I started receiving the threatening phone calls from the Rush Rushers and decided that I better get back to the Rush Rush before mayhem broke out.

But that’s not the story of the day. The story of the day is a tale of strange confusions. Previously I had written a series of blogs about a trip to Northern California to attend the wedding of a young relative. We were kept up to date with the development of this marriage via Fbook posts such as: “My hunky looks so CUTE in the morning when he snores!!” All was moving along swimmingly except for the moment when her mother had to be fbooked in order to find out the newlyweds were moving after talking with young daughter just the night before. But just the other day this form of communication took a turn or moved to a different level. I’m not sure if this is for the better or for the worse so I’ll let you dear reader draw your own conclusions and perchance you will share them with me as I’m really confused. Here goes the tale.

I was up one recent morning checking the e-mails and then Fbook to see if the world was still spinning when I spied a curious communication from the aforementioned young bride. The darling made a post on Fbook as to how she hates the behavior of certain people. Now that’s nice enough as Fbook is a social medium and whining is allowed. The following messages were supportive in nature and tone and from family and friends which is still nice. So everything was very nice and Fbook was providing the medium for which it was designed and that, too, is nice. Then Prince Valiant, the studdly hubby, is referenced in several of the postings and then I see a post from the lad himself, also in support of the baby bride. I start to read it but my eyes blur over. I want to scream Stop!, Call 911!, Call a doctor! Where’s Dr. Phil?! But I just sigh and realize that the honeymoon must be over. Why else would such a young couple have to resort to Fbook to communicate? I assumed that they shared the same bedroom and breakfast table but maybe when she mentioned to her mother that she was moving maybe it was to her own apartment! Who knows? I guess with so much instant communication methods about a young couple could keep in touch with Fbook and texting and then just meet up on weekends. You know it could keep the romance young and give each meetup a fresh start. It could work but I’m not sure. I know the social mores are changing but damn I always looked forward to a quiet face to face conversation with my wife.

Having become a student of communications in the modern world by gathering observations from years in the computer industry, to engaging with and observing the local habitants of coffee cafés such as the Rush Rush, to joining social networking sites and yes even trying my hand with the online dating industry I’ve come to several conclusions. One being that sometimes you just got to tell the truth and admit the pictures you that were posted are old, maybe even by a decade or so. Eventually you will have to talk with the person on the other end of the communication spectrum in person. And that not everyone wants to know quite as much about as you would like to think that they should know.

A classic example is as follows. I’m at a clinic waiting to hear from my doctor the other day when the ubiquitous self-important one shows up. Marching through the door with the old I have arrived attitude the phone conversation didn’t miss a beat. The conversation continued while standing at the reception window under the sign requesting a cessation of all cell phone calls while at the window. And this “dude” is big so nobody is saying anything! The seat opposite me is soon enwrapped by said soul. The call ends and you can hear a collective exhale by fellow comrades of the waiting room. But alas seconds go by and the calls start again. Finally his girlfriend is engaged and we get to hear that she is on the toilet!! Oh how wonderful! Clunk!

The Communications Revolution seems to be going the way of the French Revolution and by that I mean that it’s a short descent into anarchy. But please don’t get me wrong I love it! Look at all of the opportunities I get to study this drama that of life and now we can see farther and farther into the distance and into the lives of our loved ones and total strangers. So with stout heart and enough restraint to hold our mirth to a smirk, I say let us go forward and enjoy the show!

For all the world is a stage,

Gump’s Brother

This entry was posted on Sunday, November 15th, 2009 at 12:16 am and is filed under Information, November. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.