As usual for a Sunday morning, I waddle out and pick up the newspapers, pour a cup of coffee and proceed to read the comics. (I always start with the comics because there is much wisdom buried in some of the punch lines.) A couple of headlines of The Press Democrat, however, catch my eye: Mike Parman’s death (A1&13) and Paul Gullixson’s column (G1).
The accolades given the former editor and publisher of the PD, deserve to be read more than once. He was a professional journalist who also promoted and supported many of the same interests as this blogger, who in high school was a wantabe newspaper writer. Mr. Parman’s devotion to promoting community volunteerism, economic development programs, the arts and historical preservation projects are all positive indicators of his “sense of community.” The accompanying editorial (A13) underscores his loss, as a friend; not only to a newspaper staff, but to the community at large. My regret is that I never had the opportunity to mingle and get acquainted with this fellow blogger who certainly “left his local campsite better than when he found it.”
On the other hand, the headline: “Who needs friends when we have TiVo?” disturbed me. At first I thought I was on a roll when I read, “we have more ways to interact with our fellow man/woman than at any other time in history. We can Hotmail, cold call, test message, conference call, fax, blog, beep, buzz and chime just about anyone at any time.”
“And yet, in spite of it all, Americans have never been more isolated.” What’s going on here? “By 2045, Americans will be friendless.” I thought greater use of computer technology and telecommunications was supposed to improve our quality of life because we could communicate more effectively and efficiently than any time in history. Oh, oh; have I been Talking the Talk in my CyberSpace and CyberPlace blogs about promoting something that is not as healthy or as community enhancing as I thought possible? I wonder what Mike Parman would have written in his blog?
As we prepare for one of the most significant holidays in our nation’s history, I’m rethinking my decision to Walk the Walk and Talk the Talk at the same time; particularly when the various ICT projects (Information & Communication Technology) – my walking, might be counter productive with my talking -the blogging. Now that I think about it, I’ve been missing my usual coffee get-togethers with friends on Friday mornings because I’ve been so pre-occupied with promoting “stuff” about Our Cyberplace. Paul’s column made reference to a report about the importance of friends and that “only geographically local ties really work.” Hmmm – that’s food for thought!
Stay tuned. I have to do some homework and rethink the value of face-to-face contacts (walking) vs. electronic communication modes (talking). Well, readers – do you have any comments or thoughts? Help!