Technology In Lieu of Common Sense

"Uh-I don't know what happened. I left the keys in the car and I shut the door and it locked.  The car's not supposed to do that."

In my secret non-author identity as a call center advisor, this is my most common call. Be it a dealer or customer, they're always shocked that the car would have the sheer audacity to lock them out. After decades of human evolution when it comes to automobiles and locking the keys inside, you would think that we would have learned, but such is not the case. These so-called smart keys that are supposed to prevent such a situation have spoiled us.

Shockingly, most times they never blame themselves for locking the keys in the car or in the trunk. They're angry and disgruntled, the victim of some form of trickery that the car has played on them. I even had one admit to pulling off on the highway to take a smoke and getting locked out.

Sometimes I just want to ask: What were you doing to get your keys locked in the car? Having a car that doesn't have a smart key, I'm paranoid about getting locked out. I'm always aware of where my keys are when I get out of the car. And if it ever happens, I have a family member with an extra set, just in case. Maybe I'm crazy, but even with technology, I wouldn't want to rely on a machine to save my butt in a jam.

Are we being dumbed down by technology, leaving common sense and our brains by the wayside?
 Are we getting too lazy to think, instead relying on Apps and computers to do it for us?

My grandmother used to carry an address book the size of a Yellow Pages in her purse, which she kept with her until the day she had her final stroke. Everyone from distant relative to close neighbor was listed in that book and she even kept a backup at home. Nowadays all our contacts are stored in our handy dandy smartphones. If your smartphone crashed, would you be able to remember your emergency contacts?

The same goes for driving. I've seen people pitch a fit because their GPS isn't working. I know of people who get directions everyday for their commute. What happens when you can't get directions?
What about something as simple as shopping? Do I really need to whip out my smartphone's calculator to figure out what my discount at Macy's will be?

I'm definitely not against technology, obviously it's there for a reason. But every so often, maybe you might want to warm up those brain cells just to make sure they're working right. It may save you a long wait for roadside because you locked your keys in your car.

It Ain't Easy

If you talk to anyone who blazed a new trail or started their own business, they'll tell you how hard they had to work to get it off the ground. They can tell you stories about the nights where they got little sleep or the ulcers they got while working to make their dream a reality.  Having your own business is certainly not for the lazy or the faint of heart. Doing your own thing is hard.

My writing buddy and I have been on this journey for over a year; starting working on our first novel June of 2012, since that time we've released two projects with a third being edited right now and the fourth currently being written with a script for Amazon Studios also in the works. Not too soon after we started our endeavor, we discovered that the writing is the easy part.

One can not simply put their book on Amazon and wish it to sell, you've gotta hustle. Along with our day jobs, we have to write, and find time in our schedules to tweet, network, and blog. There are never enough hours in the day and any time you spend with trivial things can be time better spent building our brand.

Like crumbs to a starving person, we get our little signs that we're headed in the right direction. Maybe while out in about we'll see the exact make, model, and color car one of our character drives or maybe we'll one across someone with the same name living in the same location that our characters are from. Or happen to be driving behind someone with a vanity plate that says 'Author'. We don't see these as coincidences, but as mile markers on our journey.

The challenges one faces while working their dreams are there to weed out the weak from the strong. Nobody ever said pursuing your dream would be easy; ask the people who've been through it.  If you keep your eyes on the prize than it will be yours. One day this will all pay off, until then we'll just keep blogging, networking, and tweeting.

News that makes me think

Once in a blue moon a story you read gives you pause to consider. That happened to me this morning as I was scrolling through the news stories of the day on my smarty phone. In between sips of fresh, delicious, hot coffee I read about two women, one who was five months pregnant and their dog. The story was of how they got lost during a hike. Not a riveting story I know but what happened next is just not only tragic but inconceivable to me. They were rescued from being lost and later reunited with their vehicle, an SUV.

“Um….really Newcastle if that’s your idea of a riveting story then you need to get out more!” You say.

No wait! Don’t move on to the next blog yet there’s more. The two ladies and their loyal companion after the rescue climbed into the SUV and started to drive off. The driver had to make a decision at the end of the driveway on which way to turn. See NOW there’s the tragedy. One way would have led them home to safety, to warm beds and loved ones. The other way ultimately emptied into a lake. It was reported the driver was unable to see the lake due to fog and heavy rain until they heard the splash. The women and the dog drowned in the SUV.

Why does this bother me? Mainly it is because that is like our life. One wrong turn can change our lives forever.

“Yeah, Yeah!” you say. “We’ve heard this lecture before; we’re moving on to another blog!”

Wait! I beg of you as I hold you by your ankles as you move your mouse to the ‘next’ button. Hear me out before you leave this page. Besides the creepy Final Destination aspect of this story that death was determined to find them no matter what, Death also decided to play a practical joke on them giving them a false sense of security that being rescued must have brought. Just imagine the relief they must have felt of the unspoken promise of being able to go home to a hot meal and a warm bed instead of falling down a ravine lost in the woods.  Death is an asshole.

“Are you trying to say Death is a real being as in the proverbial Angel of Death?” You ask. “Don’t you think it was just a tragic series of events and nothing more Newcastle? Why are you such a drama queen?”

First off I’ve been told I’m a Drama Empress! Don’t believe me read my books! And most times I would agree with you, but in this instance I believe the women and dog were selected, their sell by date passed. How else can we explain being rescued from one tragic situation just to die in the same day probably only hours apart in another tragic situation?

“You’re a moron Newcastle! Didn’t they choose to continue in fog and rain knowing they couldn’t see and apparently had no sense of direction?” You yell at me.

Yes they exercised free will by ignoring the laws of nature and tempted fate driving off into weather that the driver couldn’t navigate in, I get it and maybe Death isn’t such an asshole after all.

“So what is your point” You politely but exasperatingly ask.

 Well haven’t we all at one time or another known someone who made a wrong turn somewhere in their life that affected them and their family. Maybe it was us and we took that wrong turn after being rescued once before.  Like the woman in the story who was pregnant, after being rescued once already that day, if she had just waited out the rain or if she had just decided not to go hiking that day, would her friend and the dog still be alive as well? Or was it just fate, an inevitability she and the others had no control over. Consider this, does the decision of a drunk to drive automatically mean he alone creates the fate of the poor schmuck that happens to get into his way or was that also fate for both of them?  

“Where are you going with this Newcastle, your rambling! I’m going to look for the recipe blogs now!” you say as you chastise me some more.

Ok, before you go I just have to admit, I have no real point other than the story bothered me and it gave me pause to consider the wrong turns in my life and of those of my family and friends. I needed to discuss it out loud so it doesn’t haunt me and keep me from functioning throughout my day. So that I too can look for recipe blogs and short stories and vacation pictures of places I will never get to see in real life. I just want everyone to take a moment and consider the next time we are faced with which way to turn, to realize that our decision may take others down that wrong turn with us for better or worse and that Death sometimes really is an asshole. May all your turns be right turns.

Quote the Raven. “Appreciate the day and embrace each other.”

God Bless,

Raven Newcastle

P.S there is an awesome Mac and Cheese recipe a few blogs over!