The Thrill Of the Mundane

 

 

I suppose that it's a rite of passage that as we get older we hanker after days gone by, when life seemed less complicated and it was easy to navigate your way through it without making a complete plank of yourself with seemingly monotonous regularity. 

You could buy a kid a present safe in the knowledge that the lack of 100 million terabytes of memory would not pose any serious problems.

You could also walk down the street without being baulked by someone wearing headphones, grinning like a potty professor at their Y-phone as they watch a clip of a dog chasing its tail while plastering a ceiling on facebook.

Those of you not part of the social media society may struggle to understand why this side splitting sight requires viewing at 7 O'clock in the morning on the journey into work, or why there is a need for others to 'like' it so that the poster gets the impression that the more of this dross they can upload the more they will be appreciated and 'liked'. 

Some people it seems now live out their entire lives on social media, never pausing to reflect on how the countless postings of trivia from their world are really viewed by their luckless 'friends'.
Of course we are very social animals, we want and need to belong, to feel we are part of the crowd, someone worth knowing. loneliness is a life block to be avoided at all costs so I suppose ticking up Jenny's cup cakes is a small price to pay for social acceptance. 

In the not so distant past people would talk with each other in that good old fashioned way of face to face conversation or perhaps a quick call on the landline.

Nowadays of course this has been made redundant by our total reliance on smartphones and social media. Everyone it seems, over the age of six has a 'device', worried parents pressured into action in case their little cherubs encounter emergencies or they get lost.

How times have changed, I hail from a time when parents routinely told their offspring to GET lost and if they could possibly get themselves adopted by the neighbours while they were at it that would be great!

Seriously though, it's a sign of how totally dependent we are becoming on these devices, that it seems unlikely that most people would be able to go a day without access to a smartphone. If it were heroin we would be known as total smackheads! 

Texting has of course taken over as the main form of communication in life, where a strange cyber language, or text speak is used which invariably leads to short, clipped messages, heavy on slang and emojis where the absence of facial expression and tone can ironically lead the reader not receiving the senders real thoughts and emotions. 

This often causes the very thing that sending the message sought to head off by creating misunderstanding and annoyance!

What's the solution to all of this? Well, after messaging my adopted parents and Face Timing my social worker, I have resolved to purchase a new ifad quif, join tik tok and upload a video of me cleaning my teeth with an angle grinder!

You gotta see it! It is hilarious!.. smiley face...@#plankchirping

C U l8r .........lol.....😜

Coming To America!

Very occasionally I am pleased to say that I am able to spend some time far away from Vincent Towers and indeed the fair shores of blighty, yep I get to put on some shades, get me some local currency and strut my stuff in a different land. One of my favourite countries to visit is America where I've been a couple of times and I may well get to return there quite soon.

Now before all my Yankee buddies start high fiving in joyful celebration I should point out that many people on this side of the pond consider that having me turn up on their doorstep is as enjoyable as sharing a bath with an alligator who's last meal was a week ago and consisted of a small minnow!

However be that as it may there is a small, albeit dwindling group of cheery souls who take a diametric view and invite me to all their parties and gatherings in the almost certain knowledge that the former lord of the dance, once suitably lubricated by alcohol, may well attempt the step over pirouette on one leg. However I digress, back to the point. On my previous visits to the states I was able to spend time in Charlottesville and Washington and on another visit some time enjoying the Florida sunshine in Kissimmee which I loved.

It will be no surprise to readers however that while in Washington I was able to get myself on the wrong side of the law without any effort whatsoever. That it took me just a few days to fall foul of the DC police department is all the more impressive as it took fully ten years to achieve the same feat with the 'Rossers' of the local village constabulary where I grew up. 

Both heinous crimes were dealt with by a stern telling off and an undertaking by me to keep the right side of the law in future and each taught a salutary lesson to yours truly that in future I should always; 

a) Know the law, 

b) Not get caught if intending to break it.

 

Being chased by the village bobby on his bike at age ten for scrumping apples, is equally as daunting as facing a DC cop staring down from a huge horse complete with an impressive hand gun 30 years later for crossing the road at the wrong place. Suffice to say both lawmen were firm but fair and the DC cop was particularly polite and chatty, especially after recognising the dulcet tone of unmistakable Anglo Saxon English.

 I'm really looking forward to going back, especially if we can arrange a trip to New York or perhaps even the west coast, where I'm sure a warm welcome awaits and I'm sure we'll have a great time. 

I have to say that overall I find Americans in general more outgoing and a whole lot more optimistic than us Brits and can say 'have a nice day' with genuine enthusiasm which conveys a sense that they actually mean it!
Well enough for now, I'm off to catch up on some old episodes of Miami Vice and learn my Miranda rights.
I have the right to remain silent, its just a pity I find that so difficult!

A Jaywalker rests after making it across the road safely to 1600  Pennsylvania Avenue