Giuseppe.

It occurred to me a while back that, in some respects, we've regressed in our forms of communicating. My old friend Al Bell, secured the first patent for the telephone. What a gift to mankind. People were now able to carry on a two way conversation rather than waiting for a response by letter. What a country!!

So a little over a century later, someone came up with the idea to write a message over the Internet(whatever that is) and deliver it much more quickly than the Post Office could. Again, what a country!! However...you had no assurance that the email got through and, even if it did, you didn't know when the recipient would read it and get back to you. This meant that you weren't sure when the issue would be resolved. All this, mind you, after my buddy, Al Bell, had given us the means to resolve the matter, promptly.....Hmmmmm!

If that weren't all, someone actually figured a way to type a message on a tiny device using teenie little buttons. The process is called "Texting". Think about it. A way was found to purposely slow down a form of communication, thus making it less efficient. Will wonders never cease. I wonder what will be next....smoke signals?

A couple of years ago, I had to replace a car radio. When I brought the car to the radio shop, I looked at lots of radios but one intrigued me the most. Instead of those teenie little buttons(you know the kind that virtually make it impossible to operate the radio at night, especially if your fingers are larger than pencil points.... or ziti) the radio had large round knobs for On/Off and Tuning. I was so overcome with emotion, I started to weep and then attempted to kiss the sales person. It wouldn't have been too bad except it was a man. He managed to contain me with a rear naked choke hold, thus sparing me any more embarrassment.

The point? In our attempt to miniaturize car radios, we finally approached the absurd.

It's all about toys and the new one coming out next year. It makes little difference to the American psyche if the new toy is regressive. So long as it's new, it's perceived as better.

I have a 1989 Ford Taurus and a 1999 Dodge Grand Caravan. Both in great condition.

I rest my case. :>)