Wouldn’t it be nice

[fallen-archie]

If folk who visit this forum realised how alone some people are! Why can’t folk talk and discuss things, other than Brexit and the weather! I note that there have been no posts on here since early afternoon such a shame imho. There ought to be life beyond FB and Twitter or ami being I unrealistic?

[theelench]

"I think people have become far less tolerant, hiding behind their fake IDs".

Exactly, if you're talking face to face you have to shut up and listen as well as talk.  By listening, you have to take in other views, even if only to formulate your reply in disagreement.  That's not necessary when talking to a screen.

All too often, from what I see on Yahoo comments about "News-worthy" topics all you get is a series of knee-jerk reactions to a sensational headline.  Followed by two line comments on the previous comments.  Everything is trivialised and superficial, debate is becoming a lost art, replaced by each individual stating their immediate reaction but taking in nothing from the other participants.

When I first started reading them I left a few comments but soon stopped, realising that no-one would be swayed by my opinion.  No-one wanted to be, by the next day they would have moved on to the next "Hot Topic" and forgotten that they had even had an opinion on yesterdays headline.

It certainly suits the powers-that-be that things stay that way. 

[fallen-archie]

Please keep posting your anecdotes this thread is most enjoyable to read imho! Nice to see Ms Seaside posting and including a reference to the beach boys😀 I love Harry’s story about the Flying Dutchman too👍 And then QB drops in some honest words of wisdom which I completely agree with.
So we have established our collective contempt for the mobile phone or at least our dependence on them, I think we are also close to agreeing that they also stifle genuine interaction, however if I were not doing this now does that mean that I would be out and about talking to someone or would I simply not communicate at all? Becoming one of the millions of people who rarely venture out of their house seeing no one and becoming a recluse? A prisoner in their own homes being force fed news of Brexit and other hot topics of the day, And all that social media does is reinforce that it is such a shame that what ought to be a useful tool and resource had been hijacked and turned into a medium for brain washing!

[theelench]

As you asked, here's another then 

Doing my gardening work, I drive from place to place.  One sunny morning last Summer I drove out to Pegwell Bay and passed an elderly chap sitting on a garden wall looking out over the fields.  I assumed, waiting for a lift or taxi.

I was quite surprised to see him still there when I'd finished weeding and tidying and was driving back a couple of hours later, on the way to my next job.  I stopped and asked if he was OK.  He smiled and said "Yes, I can hear the Sky-Lark better out here than in the back garden." 

Sky-Larks are now rarely heard around here and I remembered how often, when I was a child with my father, out in the countryside, we would stop and try to find them high in the sky overhead.

It saddens me that we have lost so much in my life-time, including it seems, the ability to do nothing and just enjoy the moment.  We've allowed our lives to be filled with often pointless busyness.

[fallen-archie]

Don’t get me going about skylarks, as a kid they used to follow me everywhere and became at times a tad annoying with their incessant song, and yet there was always something busy and determined about it as they hovered waiting to drop to the floor and then run to their nest. Throughout spring and summer they were there singing away to their hearts content and yet now they are silent, yes there remain colonies in remote parts of Britain but most children will never get the chance to see or hear one, if you are lucky enough to do so it is only a matter of time before they will be gone forever their homes replaced by yet more housing to meet our insatiable desires!!

[cee-dee]

Your mention about Skylarks brought back a few memories.

Until aged 11, I lived in a small village out in the countryside and was alway out in the fields. Then. some fields were always "Permanent Pasture" = they were never ploughed. There were clumps of coarser grass here and there and I used to see the Skylarks land away from one, run along the (shorter) grass and in to one of those clumps where it had a nest.

Now, fields like that are mostly a thing of the past.

A mile from here, there's a "Country Park" which was formed on the site of an old sand & gravel quarry which was later filled in by "The Tip" and grassed over. Over time, some bits sunk a bit and other bits got rutted when they mowed the grass. There used to be numerous Skylarks singing over there and they used the un-cut grass areas for nesting and I used to see them doing the same thing as above = landing then running over the shorter grass to their nest site.

Then, the council decided not to mow the grass any more "for the wildlife"..... There's no Skylarks there now!

I think the Skylarks need a bit of short grass to land, look round and make sure nothing predatory follows then to their nest?

There's another park not far from here and the council have done the same thing there "for the wildlife"......

[**bustysinclaire**]

I do agree with you all about the mobile phone, the extent they are used certainly does stop people from communicating in a more personal way.

I sadly do need one, so they do have their place.I need to carry one with me for emergencies because several people in my immediate family rely on me for help. If I'm out and about they can still get hold oh me when they have a real need.

Like  I said before used as a tool in the right way they are can be a valuable item.

[theelench]

"...... used as a tool in the right way they can be a valuable item".

That I can agree with but what insidious force is it that makes so many people willing slaves to them?

At my other, office cleaning job, the supervisor has threatened more than once to make people leave them in their cars because if the thing bleeps they have to drop everything and respond.  The looks of wide-eyed outrage at the suggestion had to be seen to be believed.

Getting their work done, driving, or a queue of other people in a shop, all take second place after the all important pokey box. 

[fallen-archie]

Agreed busty they are an invaluable tool but they are becoming a fixture in the hands of many!!
CD don’t know if you are aware but skylarks often land and run to a dummy nest in order to confuse potential predators, clever eh!

[cee-dee]

No, didn't know that but they need some short grass? They also run a little to move away from their nest before taking off.