Family Road Trip: 2010 vs. 1965

I recently went on a road trip with my daughter, her husband and four children. It really made me think about what technology has done to our society. We are so "plugged in" that we're "unplugged" when it comes to spending time with our families. Everyone had their own "thing" going.

That beautifully scenic trip from south Texas, (close to Corpus Christi,) to Abilene and back made me remember the times when I was a child and we drove across country for one reason or another. I started a comparison.

In 1965, my parents prepared for a trip. Daddy would load an ice chest with ice and all kinds of sodas, ranging from Coke and Dr. Pepper to rootbeer and Delaware Punch. (You have to be a Texan to know that one!) When it was time for a drink, it was ice cold and in a glass bottle. Mom would make some type of sandwich filling, (Usually Spam salad, which was made with boiled eggs, pickles, mayonnaise, and of course, shredded Spam,) and pack bread, chips, and cookies. At lunchtime, we'd stop at a roadside park and have a picnic. Spam salad never tasted as good as it did in the fresh air. Mom kept the bowl on top of the cokes in the ice chest, so it stayed cool, and we made our sandwiches right then and there so they wouldn't be soggy.

In 2010, my daughter also made sandwiches. She chose pimiento cheese and tuna, but she learned a lesson when the tuna sandwiches all got soggy before we ate. (in the car) She also packed drinks, but they were all bottled water, which was better for us than those sodas, but it sure didn't taste as good. Besides, what's better for the environment? In 1965, we kept the glass bottles and turned them in for the deposit. They were reused, which cut down on litter. In 2010, I keep remembering the commercial they show on television of all those plastic bottles and what they are doing to the Earth. When are we going to stop? When we are all neck-deep in plastic?

In 1965, Daddy would cut a piece of plywood to exactly fit between the back seat and the front seat. Under it, he packed stuff, and on top, my brother and I had a great view of the scenery. (No seat belts, of course!) We took blankets and pillows, coloring books, and colors, (crayons,) and Travel Bingo. Mom would call out items from the list as she saw them, and my brother and I competed to see who'd bingo first. When we got bored with that, we'd color or just watch the scenery. We SAW the country, or at least the state. If we were traveling through a busy city, (like downtown Houston,) Mom would say, "Now lay down and be quiet! Your dad gets nervous driving through Houston." We'd lie down on our pillows and be as quiet as a 6 and 4-year-old could be, which usually wasn't all that quiet.

In 2010, the Ford Explorer was packed. I sat in the front with my son-in-law or daughter, depending on which one was driving at the time. In the middle was the other parent, my 9-year-old granddaughter, and her almost 3-year-old sister, dutifully strapped into her car seat. In the third seat, sat the 6-year-old strapped in her booster chair, with her 8-year-old brother beside her. They all had a perfect view of the scenery passing by as we made the drive. Unfortunately, everyone was too busy to enjoy the view. It was so sad to me that every time I said, "Hey, kids! Look at that!", I would usually get the response, "They're not listening. They're too busy with their movies." It was true, too. There were so many electronic gadgets in that car that it's a wonder we made it down the road without becoming a sad case of spontaneous combustion!

Starting in the third seat, both kids had portable DVD players and each had on a different movie. I have no idea how they concentrated on what they were watching, as neither one had ear phones. My grandson also had his cell phone, and we'd periodically have a "text" conversation. Behind me, the baby had her own DVD player, and the 9-year-old divided her time between watching the baby's movie and playing her Nintendo DS. At one point, my son-in-law sat behind me, headphones blocking out the noise from the children, as he surfed the Internet on his laptop. At those times, my daughter and I at least enjoyed the view together or had true person-to-person communication.

Then, when my son-in-law drove, they switched places, she plugged in to the lap top, and he and I did some talking. I enjoyed those conversations. We never seem to have the time to just talk. There's always too much going on.

Then there were complaints about the level of music he had playing, but he responded that he had to hear it to drive. In 1965, the radio, if it was on, had to be constantly switched as we drove, because the AM stations usually didn't broadcast very far. Their signals just didn't have the strength. Often, if we were in hilly country, the music became static when we went down, then it would be music again on top of the hill. In 2010, there was no need to worry about the radio stations, as my son-in-law had his I-pod plugged into a dock that ran it through the radio and we all listened to his music in stereo. That was fine when I liked what he was playing, but it wasn't so great when it was too loud, or not music to my liking.

Then I remembered something...in my bag was my own MP3 player, with my own music. As the baby started getting fussy, and the the adults started getting grouchy, I retreated into my own world. I plugged my ears with ear phones, turned on my music, closed my eyes, leaned back against my pillow, and let Lynnard Skynnard, Boston, and Aerosmith take me away. Hmmm....maybe technology isn't all that bad.