Monday, February 27, 2012

Outdoors For The Good of The Planet

GOOD TO SEE FAMILIES OUTDOORS OVER THE WEEKEND


KIDS NEED TO BE EXPOSED TO NATURE - FOR THE GOOD OF THE PLANET


WHEN I SEE YOUNGSTERS WALKING DOWN THE STREET TEXTING, TEENAGERS IN GROUPS, A PHONE IN EACH HAND, AND WATCH ADULTS WHO KNOW BETTER, DRIVING THROUGH BUSY TRAFFIC CORRIDORS, TALKING ON THEIR CELL PHONES, I WONDER WHAT MY OLD OUTDOOR EDUCATOR FRIEND, DAVE BROWN WOULD THINK OF IT ALL. HE PASSED AWAY IN THE LATE 1990'S BEFORE CELL PHONE USE BECAME AS PREVALENT, IN GROCERY STORE LINES, MOVIE THEATRES, CLASSROOMS, RESTAURANTS AND EVEN ON PLAYGROUNDS….. THE SERIOUSLY CONTEMPLATING KIDS ON THE PLAYGROUND EQUIPMENT. SLIDE AND TEXT. SWING AND CALL. IT APPEARS TODAY WE HAVE OUTRIGHTLY, WITHOUT THE SLIGHTEST RESERVATION, SUCCUMBED TO THIS COMMUNICATION CRAZINESS. DAVE WOULD NOT APPRECIATE THE PROLIFERATION AT ALL, AND WOULD NOT SEE THIS AS AN IMPROVEMENT FOR MANKIND, TRYING TO SURVIVE IN A FAILING ENVIRONMENT. FOR THE ADVANTAGES THIS TECHNOLOGY HAS PROVIDED US, IT HAS BEEN A DAMNATION ON MANY OTHER FRONTS. I'M APPALLED AT THE NUMBER OF PARENTS WHO HAVE GIVEN THEIR YOUNGSTERS, THE UNDER TWELVE AGE GROUP, THESE OPEN LINES OF COMMUNICATION, EXPENSE AND SOCIAL CONSEQUENCE BE DAMNED. I DON'T HAVE A CELL PHONE BY THE WAY. I LAND-LINE WHEN I NEED TO. YES, I'M A DINOSAUR, WHO STILL THANKFULLY KNOWS HOW TO PADDLE A CANOE AND USE A GARDEN RAKE, WITHOUT HAVING TO TEXT ANY ONE FOR INSTRUCTIONS.

DAVE BELIEVED IN PUTTING KIDS…..TEENAGERS, AND ADULTS, IN CANOES, ON A MAGNIFICENT LAKE, FOR A PADDLE TO NOWHERE IN PARTICULAR, TO GET AWAY FROM THE CONTAMINATION OF THE URBAN DIN. AWAY FROM THE DISTRACTIONS OF THE CITY STRESSES, TO ENJOY THE SOLITUDE AND HEALING CAPABILITY OF NATURE. BY HIS OWN ADMISSION, AND I'VE GONE ON HIS NATURE WALKS, IT TAKES THESE MODERN DAY, DISTRACTED, STRESSED-OUT KIDS A LONG TIME TO NORMALIZE TO THE NATURAL WORLD. I'VE WATCHED CITY-BASED STUDENTS STRUGGLE TO HEAR THE SOUNDS OF NATURE, BECAUSE THEY CAN'T ADJUST TO THE SUBTLENESS OF A FOREST OR LAKESHORE. THEY HAVE COME FROM ENVIRONMENTS JAMMED TO OVERFLOWING WITH LOUD AND INTRUSIVE SOUNDS, FROM SIRENS AND JACKHAMMERS, TO OVERHEAD JETS, ROADWAYS JAMMED WITH TRANSPORTS AND BUSES, AND SO MANY LIGHTS, FLASHING AND INTENSE. TO SIT AT LAKESHORE, TO LISTEN TO THE SOUNDS OF WAVES LAPPING AGAINST THE ROCKS, OR THE CHIRP OF CRICKETS, IS NOT EASILY ACCOMMODATED. WHEN DAVE RAN HIS OUTDOOR EDUCATION PROGRAMS, HE ADMITTEDLY HAD TO HAVE A LOT OF PATIENCE WITH THESE INNER CITY KIDS, TO ALLOW THEN TO SETTLE INTO THE REALITY OF WOODLAND AND MEADOW, WHERE NO CONSTRUCTION EQUIPMENT, OR BLASTING OPERATIONS WERE EMPLOYED. I THINK DAVE WOULD HAVE BEEN VERY MUCH ALARMED, TAKING TODAY'S STUDENTS ON SIMILAR NATURE WALKS, AND HEARING PHONE RINGS, WHILE TRYING TO PROMOTE LIFE WITHOUT THE COMPROMISES OF TECHNOLOGY……EVERY WAKING MOMENT, AND THEN SOME. YOUNG PEOPLE, EVEN IN THE RURAL AREAS OF OUR PROVINCE, OUR COUNTRY, ARE BEING STRESSFULLY URBANIZED WITHOUT ACTUALLY BEING IN THE CITY. DE-SENSITIZED! EVERY DAY. THIS RIDICULOUSLY FABRICATED, GREED-INSPIRED PHONE CULTURE IS STRESSING EVERYONE…..ESPECIALLY THOSE WEAK SOULS WHO FIND A CELL PHONE MORE IMPORTANT THAN BODY PARTS, AND ARE WILLING TO SACRIFICE EVERYTHING TO STAY CONNECTED. IT IS NOTHING SHORT OF A TRAGEDY UNFOLDING, BUT BECAUSE SHUTTING THE BARN DOOR NOW, WON'T MAKE ANY DIFFERENCE, IT'S THAT "WAIT AND SEE" SCENARIO…..THAT'S PRETTY DARN EASY TO PREDICT.

WE HAVE ALLOWED THIS TO HAPPEN, BECAUSE MOST PARENTS TODAY, DON'T WANT THEIR OFFSPRING TO FEEL DIFFERENT THAN THEIR CLASSMATES…..AN OBVIOUSLY TERRIBLE SITUATION TO SOCIAL STANDING. SOCIAL STANDING APPARENTLY, IS EVERMORE IMPORTANT THESE DAYS, THAN IT EVER WAS WHEN I WAS GROWING UP IN THE 1960'S AND 70'S. THAT WAS STILL A TIME WHEN A CANOE IN HAND, A WATERWAY, AND A WAITING CANOE, PROVIDED ALL THE RUSH WE NEEDED. A BALL AND GLOVE, AN OPEN BASEBALL DIAMOND…., A FOOTBALL, HOCKEY STICK, SKATES, A STACK OF OUR FAVORITE RECORDS…..THE SOCK HOP. THESE THINGS WOULD STILL BE RELEVANT IF PARENTS INSISTED ON THEM BEING SO. INSTEAD OF ALLOWING YOUNGSTERS TO GET THEIR RECREATION WITH A PHONE THEY MIGHT AS WELL GLUE TO THEIR HAND FOR SAFE KEEPING. I JUST CAN'T BELIEVE WHAT THESE PARENTS SPEND ON CELL PHONES EVERY MONTH, SO THAT THEIR KIDS CAN FIT IT IN. IF THERE ARE ECONOMIC WOES HEADING OUR WAY, I'M GOING TO BE INTERESTED TO SEE IF CELL PHONE OWNERSHIP TRUMPS FOOD ON THE TABLE. THE SAD THING IS, AND THE IRRESPONSIBILITY OF IT ALL, IS THAT THESE YOUNG PEOPLE ARE ADDICTED TO THEIR PHONES, AND PARENTS HAVE BEEN THEIR SUPPLIERS. SO WHAT DO YOU THINK WHEN, BY ECONOMIC DOWN-TURN, THESE CHILD-LOVING PHONES HAVE TO BE SHUT-DOWN? HAVE THEY THOUGHT ABOUT WHAT THIS WILL DO…….WHAT KIND OF TANTRUMS MIGHT WE EXPECT FROM THE NEWLY DE-PHONED. NEW REALITY SHOWS LIKE "CELL PHONE REHAB."

SUZANNE AND I WERE IN THE GROCERY STORE YESTERDAY AFTERNOON, JUST FOR A FEW ITEMS. THERE WERE TWO WOMEN BEING QUITE INTRUSIVE, AS FAR AS MY OWN SHOPPING PLEASURE GOES. I DON'T LIKE BEING BUMPED WHEN I'M IN A FOOTBALL FIELD SIZED STORE. I WILL ALWAYS YIELD THE RIGHT OF WAY, AND IF SOMEONE WAS TO SAY "EXCUSE ME," I WOULD GLADLY OBLIGE. BOTH OF THESE LADIES SEEMED TO BE ATTACHED TO MY SWEATER. EVERYWHERE, EVERY ADVANCE I MADE IN THE STORE, SEEM TO INCLUDE THEM. "THEY'RE TAKING PICTURES," SUZANNE INFORMED ME. "TAKING PICTURES OF WHAT," THINKING THAT MY CELEBRITY WAS ATTRACTING ATTENTION FROM FANS. "NO STUPID. THEY'RE TAKING PICTURES OF THE FOOD," SHE ADDED, POINTING TO THE CELL PHONES CAMERAS AIMED AT VARIOUS SECTIONS OF THE MEAT COUNTER. "THEY'RE PROBABLY WITH THE STORE," SHE SAID. "WHY WOULD THE STORE PUT THESE PEOPLE OUT HERE NOW, WHEN CUSTOMERS ARE TRYING TO DO THEIR SHOPPING," I INQUIRED OF MY OBSERVANT WIFE? "I DON'T KNOW," SHE REPLIED. "BUT THEY JUST STACKED THOSE PACKAGES (OF MEAT), SO THEY COULD GET THE PHOTOGRAPH THEY WANTED." SHE WAS RIGHT OF COURSE. BOTH OF THEM WERE STRAIGHTENING PILES OF FROZEN GOODS AND THE MEAT PACKAGES. HOW ODD.

WELL, I DON'T THINK THEY WERE FROM THAT STORE, AND IF THEY WERE, IT WAS RUDE OF MANAGEMENT TO ALLOW THIS TO HAPPEN DURING THE BUSIEST TIME OF THE DAY. BY THE WAY. WHEN THEY WEREN'T TAKING PHOTOGRAPHS, THEY WERE EITHER TALKING ON THE PHONE, OR TEXTING. I FINALLY JUST STOOD MY GROUND, AND LET THEM GO ON TO THE NEXT PHOTO-OP WITHOUT ME. ALMOST RELUCTANTLY, THEY DID MOVE ON, AND FOUND THEMSELVES ANOTHER GROUP OF PEOPLE TO PIGGYBACK. I WONDERED IT THEY WERE USING THESE GROUPS FOR SOME PURPOSE…..OF COVER. "THEY'VE GOT CAMERAS ALL OVER THE PLACE IN HERE," SUZANNE SCOLDED ME…..AS SHE DOES FREQUENTLY. "WHY WOULD THEY THINK GETTING CLOSE TO PEOPLE WOULD STOP THE CAMERA FROM FILMING THEM?" I DON'T KNOW IF THESE LADIES WERE FROM ANOTHER STORE, SPIES, OR WHAT, OTHER THAN THEY WERE INTRUSIVE AND OBVIOUSLY COULDN'T HAVE CARED LESS, WHETHER THEY WERE SEEN THIS WAY. THE CELL PHONE IS A POWERFUL ITEM THESE DAYS, AND HAD I CONFRONTED THEM ABOUT THEIR RUDE BEHAVIOR, I UNDOUBTEDLY WOULD HAVE BEEN APPEARING ON YOU-TUBE FOR CYBER SPACE ENTERTAINMENT.

WE HAVE A HUGE PROBLEM SAVING THE ENVIRONMENT FROM IMMINENT DESTRUCTION. WE NEED PEOPLE TO APPRECIATE THE PRECARIOUS SITUATION WE'RE IN, AND CREATE A NEW AND IMPROVED GENERATION, WHO WILL MAKE THE WORLD A BETTER, CLEANER PLACE. HERE'S THE TRAGEDY. WE'RE IN SO MUCH TROUBLE. THE YOUNG GENERATION WON'T GIVE UP THEIR "ME" TIME, ON THEIR CELL PHONES, JUST TO HELP SAVE THE PLANET. IF I WAS TO IMAGINE THE LAST DAYS OF PLANET EARTH, IN ONE TRADEMARK SCENE, IT WOULD INVOLVE A PARK BENCH OF YOUNG CITIZENS, CHOKING THEIR FINAL BREATHS, GASPING FOR AIR, TRYING DESPERATELY TO FINISH ONE LAST TEXT, TO THEIR SIMILARLY CHOKING, NEAR-DEATH MATE, ON THE BENCH ACROSS THE ROAD…….AS THE OXYGEN IS FINALLY DEPLETED. TRAGIC? SEEMS LIKE THAT. BUT IF YOU WERE TO RUN THIS SCENARIO, PAST A CLASSROOM OF CELL-PHONE ADDICTED TEENAGERS, WHAT WOULD THEY ASK THE TEACHER, ABOUT THE FINAL DETAILS OF LIFE EXPENDED. "WHAT WERE THEY TEXTING TO EACH OTHER?" NOT, "WHY DID THEY DIE," OR "HOW COME THERE WAS NO OXYGEN LEFT…..WHO FORGOT TO FILL THE TANKS."

THE BOTTOM LINE. CELL PHONES ARE NOT GOING TO SAVE THE PLANET. THE PEOPLE USING THE CELL PHONES, HAVE A SHOT AT IT. NO MATTER WHAT THE CELL-PHONE INDUSTRY WANTS TO CLAIM, OR BRAINWASH HUMANITY WITH, THEY ARE NOT SOURCES OF OXYGEN……NO APP FOR THAT! CELL PHONES ARE A PRIORITY. HOW CAN WE LIVE WITHOUT THEM? WELL, AS DAVE BROWN WOULD HAVE SAID, "NATURE WILL PROVIDE." THIS OF COURSE HINGES, ON THE WELFARE OF OUR NATURE…..AND THINGS AREN'T LOOKING GOOD.

THIS PAST WEEKEND, IT WAS WONDERFUL TO SEE SO MANY FAMILIES AND YOUNGSTERS, OUTDOORS FOR THE ANNUAL GRAVENHURST WINTER CARNIVAL. THIS WAS A GREAT OPPORTUNITY TO PROMOTE HEALTHY LIVING…..IN A LITERAL WINTER WONDERLAND, WHERE NATURE….NOT THE CELL PHONE, PREVAILED WITH THE MOST INTEGRITY OF ALL. AND EVERYONE WHO SHUT DOWN THEIR PHONES, JOINED THEIR KIDS FOR THE FESTIVITIES, BENEFITTED IMMENSELY FROM THE LACK OF COMPROMISE…..THE MINIMIZATION OF INTRUSION. MAYBE THEY EVEN HEARD THE BLUE JAYS CALLING OUT, THE WIND RUSHING THROUGH THE PINE BOUGHS, THE WOODPECKER TAPPING AT AN OLD STUMP, LAUGHTER OF CHILDREN AT PLAY…..ONE OF THE NICEST SOUNDS OF ALL.

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