Sentimental Journeys: A road to Hell paved with good intentions

Sometimes I get asked what inspired me to write a certain post. Well this post has its roots in posts I read over the weekend that from two other Lehigh Valley Bloggers. The first influencing post was from Renee James blog, "It's not me, it's you." Her post was titled "Winding Down" and she wrote about the generational divide between people who still wear watches and those who don't, but carry blackberry's or I-phones.

The second post that drives my own was by Kathy Frederick, the very funny woman who writes the Junk Drawer blog. In her post on Sunday she opined about saving her best blog efforts for her worldwide readership, and not just her Facebook posse. She admitted that sometimes when commenting on other blogs, great ideas for her own blog jump out.

That is what happened to me. I was commenting on Renee's post, and this one came to me.

I consider myself an observer. I like to watch society as it evolves, and I see a culture that is losing its sentimentality. We have this notion that technology is making our lives better and we are bridging gaps that allow us to communicate in ways never considered. The intentions of the technology are arguably good, but I think we are losing something in the trade off for convenience that we will regret. I think a bit of our humanity and empathy for each other has been discarded.

I feel we are losing our appreciation for those things that are old. Not just goods, such as typewriters, watches, calculators, et. al., but we are losing our appreciation for basic emotional values.

We look at business partnerships, relationships, friendships, as mere things we use to transition to the next, best thing. We discard our friends and lovers as easily as we trade in our old car or go to Home Depot to buy a washing machine.

Too many of us don't do the necessary maintenance to keep our appliances running, because we know we can run down to the store and get a new one whenever we want. It is sad, but we have begun to accept that ideal as okay for all aspects of existence. We don't like our collection of Facebook friends? Maintaining these connections isn't worth the bother! Delete them and start over. It's easy! Get a new batch!

So to borrow from the current hip lingo, I guess I am "Old School." That's why the thumbnail I chose for this post is a wedding band. (IT's just a picture, that's not mine, by the way.)

You see, I am Sentimental. On my left hand I wear a wedding band that has been there for more than 13 years. Before I had it, it was on my Dad's hand for almost fifty. I have this crazy idea that some things are worth doing the maintenance on, and are not disposable. Some data can't be transferred by way of cyberspace, sometimes you have to pass the hard drive on in person. My Mom gave me my Dad's wedding band when I told her I was getting married, a year after he died. I don't know if anyone will ever want my wedding band when I am dead and gone, but at least for now, it still means something to me.