I'm Just Sayin' . . .

So, it was my turn to blog yesterday, but I’ve been fighting off yet another nasty bug that has been going around. Good times/NOT!!! Today is a bit better, so I decided to take laptop in hand and make an attempt at writing a post. We’ll see how it goes; if it doesn’t make sense—we’ll blame it on the cold medicine. ;) 

It’s interesting, the thoughts that come to mind when you have time to sit back and ponder life. The first day felt rather muddled with feelings of, “Am I going to survive this one,” plaguing as a nasty cold wreaked havoc. Yesterday was more like, “Well, I’m still here, but I can’t breathe and my cough rather resembles animal life I’ve observed along the California/Oregon coast.” In between all of that, I found myself thinking about the past, the current time, and the future. Little things like that. At one point I remember analyzing the changes my grandparents observed during their respective lifetimes. In their youth, horse and buggy was the acceptable means of transportation. That morphed into trains, automobiles, airplanes, and launching men to the moon. Visiting friends, neighbors, and family members changed from talking over the fence, to using a contraption called a telephone, complete with cord and a person called an operator. There were party lines, private lines, and telephone lines that connected them with loved ones near and far.

They still wrote letters—one of my grandmothers in particular was very good at keeping in touch via the written word. This, I believe, has become a dying art. These days we send text messages and call it good. Or we instant message someone if it’s really important. We chat live via various programs online. 

I remember years ago when my father excitedly brought home a new-fangled gadget that allowed us to play a game on our television set called “PONG.” We were amazed at the stunning graphics. ;) Okay, they weren’t stunning, but it seemed really cool. Compare that game with what is now considered cool among video gamers, and it’s not so impressive.

When VCR’s emerged, we thought life couldn’t get any better. We could personally pick out whatever movie we wanted to watch, instead of relying on television stations to do it for us. DVD’s and Blue-Ray devices have pretty much taken over, or “streaming” via impressive bandwidth. I’m sure there’s something new on the horizon that will make all of that seem like pioneer days.

Our phones are now computerized, and some resemble tablets, since they’re growing in size yet again.

Ye olde TV sets are currently replaced with the flat-screened versions.

Planes, trains, and automobiles still exist, but each year sleeker models are revealed. I’m still waiting for those featured on “The Jetsons,” . . . you know, the family cars that fly around the atmosphere instead of enduring snarled traffic jams . . . oh, wait . . . they had traffic jams as well. Sigh . . .

If you’re wondering if all of this has a common link . . . it does. Ponder all of the technological wonders that have emerged during the past decades and consider this: THERE IS STILL NO CURE FOR THE COMMON COLD!!! I’m just sayin’ . . . we can send people into space, but we can’t come up with a way to stifle a malady that has been plaguing us for eons. To me, this is a very sad state of affairs!!!

I know . . . there are items out there that can help, but when one is lying on the couch, trying not to die, the last thing you want to do is drive to town to find something that can alleviate horrific symptoms, like coughing up one’s lungs, or not being able to breathe. I’ve been getting by with cold medicine I already had on hand, but it still doesn’t take away feeling like the last chapter.

So . . . all of you techie-types that are wailing because there’s nothing new to invent, have I got a suggestion for you!!! CURE THE COMMON COLD!!! Come up with a way to erase this vindictive bug from society on a permanent basis. You will be considered among the greatest scientists/inventers of all time.

And now, I’m climbing carefully down off my soapbox (since I’m still a bit dizzy) to lie down before I hurt myself. Au Revoir.