RevGalBlogPals Friday Five

An Old Versus Modern (Postmodern?) Friday Five

as posted by Singing Owl

Yesterday I had two separate conversations in which people were musing about how much change is occurring. The WW II generation, of which my mom is a part, went from horse and buggy to automobiles, saw the lessening, or even the end of many diseases, went from widespread use of kerosene lamps and outhouses (in the country, and most folks were rural)) to a totally electrified and plumbed society. The fastest means of communication was a telegraph. The second conversation--gulp--was about MY generation and how much change occurred in the last half of the 20th century. The person said his 13 year old had not seen a vinyl record album until a few days before, couldn't remember a time without cell phones, and on and on.

As for the questions!

1. What modern convenience/invention could you absolutely, positively not live
without?

Remicade (or the other biologics) that let my body move in such a way that most people don't know how bad my arthritis is

2. What modern convenience/invention do you wish had never seen the light of day?
Why?

Since I am fully convinced that everything has the power for both good and evil, depending on who is using it or how it is being used, not one thing. God gave us a brain for us to use it. The same brain should also be used to make judgments about the usages that bring about more good.

3. Do you own a music-playing device older than a CD player? More than one? If
so, do you use it (them)?

Older than a CD player? there's a cassette tape deck and receiver that are older. The receiver is used much more frequently than the tape deck. The tape deck (dual, mind you) has been used Maybe twice in the last 3 years.

4. Do you find the rapid change in our world exciting, scary, a mix...or something
else?

I think I''m used to rapid change since I haven't known much else. After all, both MTV started and I learned basic programing on an Apple when I was in high school while the rotary dial phone still hung in the kitchen of my house and we were only able to change the channels on tv remotely because we used the cable remote. (I remember renting a VCR with the tapes for a birthday slumber party for my little sister.)

5. What did our forebears have that we have lost and you'd like to regain?
A better sense of community.

Bonus
points if you have a suggestion of how to begin that process. Well, first, I think we need to intentionally set aside time for re-creation. With all of our "time-saving" devices and strategies, we focus on getting more done instead of using that time for sabbath, for soul building, for nurturing friendships. Somehow, my grandpa knew that there would always be something to do on the farm but a nap might be the best use of time right then. He did chores AND went to church and taught Sunday School because it wasn't about one being more important than the other but that both needed to be tended to. Feeding the cattle and pigs and horses was just as important as capturing the attention of teenagers and trying to feed their souls. We have to decide that tending to our souls (which includes our community) is important enough to count as "getting stuff done."