I hear you Nanny!
Actually my sis and I were talking about our circle of friends over the weekend as we sat next to the camp fire. There are very few folks I trust with personal information anymore and I can't tolerate stupid drama! Most of the people I know that always have bad things happen to them bring it upon themselves with their stupid decisions and then wonder, why them?....but I digress. I was also talking to my nephew who's in his 20's and he was saying the same thing. He and his fiance' have a very small circle of friends b/c of other's drama. I think our digital media has a LOT to do with it. We don't have to communicate anymore to get information, we just turn on the computer and search for it. We don't have to ask how to fix something.....just search for it. The problem with that is....you lose out on the conversation, the bonding, the stories, and the friendships made while engaging in that conversation with another human! You generally get more information than what you intended for when speaking with a human rather than looking it up online. Those relationships were what used to keep our society intact. Now everyone thinks they can do everything on their own and have no use for others. Yeah, you might be able to avoid crappy people that way, but you also avoid the good ones too. And, either way, you should learn how to deal with both of them. It's how we stay civil in this changing world of lost civility. Not engaging in conversations with others likely make people more lonely. The computer has helped with self sufficiency to an extent, but IMHO, has made people more lonely.....and most don't even realize it. I'm sure I've lost out on some friendships b/c I get much of my information online, but I am slowing changing that as I get older and have more time. In fact, I have a plan to visit some folks real soon and ask lots of questions about gardening. DH knows some good people that would love to have a visit. However, we will call first as I find it incredibly rude to just show up at someones home without calling first.
When growing up I remember spending a lot of time entertaining myself. After chores were done (and they had better be done by the time dad got home!) I would go fishing, ride my bike, play with barbies and hot wheels and marbles, play basketball, practice with my bow, read Hardy Boys books, play with the dogs, play board games, etc. I don't remember being bored all that much. It was just before video games became big. Yeah, we had a TV.....it got 4 channels....the big 3 and PBS. There usually wasn't a whole lot to watch and my parents wouldn't allow it on during the day while they were home anyways. I really looked forward to Saturday morning cartoons
But after cartoons were done, it would be time to go outside and help haul and stack firewood.
Being a rebel was something different back then. Some kids in school would go "all out" and smoke pot, but I was content to score some beer on the weekend with a pack of smokes and cruise our small town with an old Chevy pickup truck and meet up with friends at an old barn for a party. That is innocent child's play these days. I look back at my childhood and adolescence and have very fond memories and wish that everyone could have had the same experiences I did. It wasn't perfect, but nothing in life is. I was very fortunate to have the family and opportunities that I had. I'm a nostalgic gal and I think the fond memories of growing up made me that way. Good times!
