We all think we might be happier involving ourselves in stuff which we can't control or doesn't really matter. But what's really distracting is the cell phone, or as K calls it "that thing always in your hand." Last night en route to an event, I passed several cars (and no, I wasn't speeding), and every driver had a cellphone glued to his or her ear - except me (surprise, surprise).
Research suggests that cellphones are right up there with children, animated conversation, hand-held games. Hell's bells, I did a radio piece two decades ago about driving to work one morning, one morning mind you, and watching fellow drivers eating breakfast, putting on make-up, and one reading the front page of the sports section which was resting on his steering wheel. As I remember it, I couldn't be too critical because I was opening and reading my mail as I progressed down the freeway.
Perhaps, just perhaps, we should all agree to concentrate on managing that several thousand pound mass of metal and quality plastic we pushing along at high speeds and not treating it like a semi-guided missile. Doing so might help us just a little as we try to focus in other parts of our lives.
