My idea of a good day begins with two-hour breakfast with someone who is interesting.
Today the exchange of thoughts and ideas seems to be reduced to bumper sticker theology, ancient cliches and emojis. An individual who visits that I haven’t seen for a while sits down and after the initial how-do-you-do they bring out their phone and I am in competition with an electronic device.
Family members sit down to eat and everyone puts their phone next to their fork. All meetings seem to be interrupted at least once by an unnecessary call. To ask that phones need to be put away is the height of rudeness. The worst thing that can happen to a teenager is to lose phone privileges.
I am old school because I am old. I liked it better when you had a Sunday dinner after church and no radio or TV was on. The only phone hung on the wall in the kitchen and rarely rang unless there was an emergency. We discussed everything related to family, friends, places and things.
Bad behavior issues were exposed and corrected by adult experience, and when there were more than two generations at the table, the better the outcome.
I am talking about family; and that needs to become the normal way of life again as the source of education and communication of generational differences. Since I am “old school,” I resort to “snail mail” to communicate.
