Ok, I love to talk. Before texting was invented, I used to have long telephone conversations with my children and grandchildren and nieces. But brief text messages have replaced this. Looking over recent text messages, I see: Bravo!! Awww, Woo hoo, Sounds great, Looks like fun, No idea. Now that I live with my daughter instead of coming upstairs to tell me the plumber has shut off the water, she sends me the message: “Water will be off for awhile.” Where are all the conversations I hunger for?
While I still remember talking to doctors, pharmacists, customer service representatives, and people with whom I did business, I only can talk to them occasionally now as most of my communication with them is via their robots who tell me to go online to communicate with them.
I am beginning to wonder if people are going to evolve into creatures without the ability to speak who only communicate with others through high tech machinery. I am certainly becoming one of them, and my grandchildren are definitely the first generation where this seems to be a real possibility.
With Covid, my days are often almost completely silent now except for talking with the seniors in my Zoom exercise group. Fortunately, there are a few bright spots for me who still loves to talk. My son and his wife religiously call me once a week and actually chat. And I have found there are still people who want to converse with me rather than text. Who are these rapidly disappearing creatures who are not yet extinct? They are SENIORS like me – brother and his wife, old friends, and just about everyone over eighty, even strangers.
aginggratefully 