My View From the Porch
We’re going to Astoria shopping this afternoon so I’ve been sitting on the porch thinking about what all we need to buy and making my list. It’s 30+ miles round trip to Costco & Fred Meyer, but if we keep the number of trips down it’s worth the savings on the gas sold at those two establishments to make it worth the occasional trip, not to mention that the price of groceries is better than here on the Long Beach Peninsula.
Yesterday I had a dear friend come to visit from Oregon. We talked a lot about the price of gas and how it’s changing how we live. This morning the radio reminded me that as of midnight tonight driving while talking on a hand held cell phone in the State of Washington becomes a ticket-able activity. The fine will be $124 with the exception of emergency calls. Law enforcement cannot stop you simply for talking on your cell phone, but they can pull you over for another infraction—such as running a red light—and add the cell phone to your list of fines.
I don’t know how many times I’ve sat at an intersection watching cars run red lights and more than half of those folks are yakking away on a cell phone. If it’s that important to make a phone call, pull over and do your talking otherwise wait until you get to your destination! Whatever did we do when had to look for a public telephone and dig out the coins to make a call? There’s no denying that cell phones are handy and keep us in contact with those we love or need to talk to, but let’s do it someplace other than the road.
6 comments:
Damn straight!
I close my eyes when my friends pick up their cell phones and get caught up in detailed conversations... ON THE FREEWAY...
Oh well, I could always take the Greyhound...
Siiiiiiiiiiigh....
One day we were on our way, by ambulance, to the E.R. with my daughter being worked on in the back and me riding up front. We came up behind a car in the fast lane, lights on and making noise...but the gentleman driving in front of us was yakking away on his phone...yeah...over sirens! Suddenly he caught the view in his mirror...and, in a panic, slammed on his brakes! The experts who have studied this are right...it's not so much the hand holding the phone...it's the brain being on everything but the dangerous task at hand.
When I go walking through the neighborhood, before I start to cross the street on a green light, I look closely at the cars in the turn lane... I am taking no chances these days with folks and their cell phones
Silence really seems to scare some people...wonder why that is?
We have been bombarded by sound for so long that silence is no longer golden, but as you say, Lorraine, frightening. Perhaps silence forces people to turn inward and it is THAT which they are afraid of.
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