STILL HERE?

Was it cell phones, or the implementation of texting that popularized the notion that you are living a boring life if you are not engaged in communication with someone other than present company?

As I found myself walking behind a couple of women on the sidewalk at North Hills last week, I deliberated as to whether or not these two were together. They remained side-by-side long enough for me to determine that they were, in fact, together, making their way to the restaurant up ahead. But each of these women was avidly engaged with non-present ones, via cell phone repartee.

Has it come to this? “I can meet you for lunch on Tuesday. Okay, see you then…oh, and did I mention that I will be on a conference call, so I won’t have time to talk with you, but we can grab a bite to eat together, at least. Oh, and I know I will want the Pecan Apricot Consommé with the eggplant roulade, and sweet tea, so would you be a dear and give the wait person my order, so I won’t have to mute my call?” >Lovely.

A popular morning news program recently asked viewers to share some unusual places from which they had texted others. Responses ranged from, “While giving birth to twins,” to “Scaling an icy section of flat VERTICAL rock 5 miles above sea level.” When did it cease to be sufficient to be fully present and plugged-in to our present environment, thereby availing ourselves of a real-time experience, and does this trend represent gain, or loss?

A popular book by once Harvard professor Richard Alpert, (born April 6, 1931 and AKA Baba Ram Dass,) became a 1971 bestseller among hippie intellectuals. BE HERE NOW introduced a generation of young Westerners to Eastern philosophies. I remember having read the book, and even having met Prof. Ram Dass at a retreat where he spoke, however all that “took” was the title of the book, oh- and that BRD was tall, and spoke and moved quite too slowly for my liking.

My purpose in sharing the preceding is that, while I do not ascribe to Eastern ways, I did (and do) like the thought of being fully engaged in “now,” as this "now" is the only available space, truly. I certainly would prefer to live among others who value the present as all-inclusive, and likewise direct the whole of their attention to any undertakings and pursuits. For example: my family surgeon, dentist and what about my carpool driver or my pilot? Daily news reports offer too much proof that split-attention is shared through all populous and among all once-trusted professions.

And, due to splitting-attention, we don’t even HEAR the stories. I was shocked to discover that only a handful of people were aware that (three years ago) a slew of major US Hospitals (not to exclude Raleigh’s Rex Hospital and Wake Med,) had been exposed for transplanting stolen cadaver parts in many surgeries. It had made major news headlines, including an in-depth 60 Minutes expose. Google it FYI. This enterprise had become a major money-maker, with thieves digging up graves for bones, skin, etc. 60 Minutes showed X-rays of cadaver hip joints, where stolen parts had been replaced with PVC pipes, thoughtfully utilizing an L-joint at the hip socket.

A couple of years ago I was heading in to shop at Whole Foods, when one posting on the entrance's bulletin board momentarily drew my attention from shopping. At the top of the layout was a photo of an aged, more sedentary Baba Ram Dass, with following text announcing an upcoming speaking engagement on his latest literary effort: STILL HERE. As I remained there to read and reflect upon what I inferred as an aging social activist’s attempt to revive what had been his 15 minutes, I wondered if I would be the only one to consider implication beyond the info as printed, or if any others who were “there” would even take note of the author of this post.

Reading on, I learned BRD had survived a stroke. Still Here…, he shares with anyone willing to read it.

Well, I have come to realize the pointlessness of deliberating the five “Ws,” as the practice of multi-tasking is likely to escalate. I'm trying not to complain, honest.

So, like many others who miss the present, I remain….Still Here.