We have grown electronic ears....

Have you noticed that people seem to have grown electronic ears in the last 5 or so years. It's unusual NOT to see someone, either in your home, or on the street that doesn't have a pair of earphones sticking out of their ear or a bigger pair sitting on top of their head. People are involved in themselves. They have isolated themselves from the rest of the world and immerse themselves in music, television, or talking to a more favored person on the other end of a cell phone.

It was bound to happen. With more and more humans invading our space, we feel the physical boundaries that make us feel safe disappear. The earphones help us feel safe again, and isolated from the crowds of strangers... or even from our closest friends, or spouses.

It is a common thing in our household for me to talk to my wife for 2 or 3 minutes, and turn to hear the response, only to find her engrossed in a TV program, oblivious to my wisdom. I'll never be able to say it that well again... Then it gets even funny when we both wear headphones at the same time.. I'm listening to music and she is listening to one of the hundred or so murder/crime programs that are on TV(CSI New York, Las Vegas, Miami, St. Louis, etc....Murder He wrote.. The Unit...Criminal Minds, etc etc..) (I often wonder if she is slyly learning how to commit the perfect murder of her husband.) She might say something to me, which I'll ignore since I can't hear her, then she gets my attention, and by the time I have my headphones off to ask what she wants, she has hers on again... until we usually give up communicating or both take them off. (Gosh, two people in the same close space without headphones.. is that some kind of new age sex?)

Then, there are the times when you find something in a book, on the web, or in a movie that is really interesting and you turn to share it with your spouse and she (or he) has earphones on. You realize that they will have to pause the DVD, the TIVO, or iPOD, take the earphones off and ask you to repeat what you said, and what was to be an interesting but pretty much unimportant remark turns into a big deal... you feel like they might say or feel... "you interupted me for that comment... again?" So, we start to keep things to ourselves more and more. Not a great commentary on the future of marital relationships.

Of course, you can understand teenagers wearing them. Anything to muffle the sounds of parents fighting, or commanding them to do something undesirable (like everything) is understandable. I'm sure they have trouble talking with each other in the same way as adults do when wearing earphones. It must not bother them as much. It must be scary to go on a date and neither have earphones with them. (Do they do that?) Do teenagers call "unprotected sex" that sex they have without wearing earphones?

Of course, the most irritating place you see people with earphones is in a car on the freeway. You see them alone on the freeway, animated in a conversation, apparently with themselves and then you see the earphone and microphone. You wonder if they will see the car in front of them slow down, or quickly turn in front of you to make that left turn off the freeway they almost didn't see, or.. just driving too slow.

The most confusing is when I go up to a receptionist who appears to be looking at you, ready to greet you, and she starts talking.. "your red hair is really appealing, you should get it done again. Just let me know when and I'll go with you..." confused I say 'huh? I don't have red hair..miss, what are you talking about?'. "Oh sorry, I'm on the phone.. just a minute... gotta go Mabel, later.." No evidence of a phone, until you see the little tube coming out of her ear.

I have a suggestion. They should start making headphones with little microphones and transmitters so we can cut in on the material people listen to. That would be especially good at home. I can then override the kids or my wife's program material to announce.."you should hear this great piece by Glenn Miller..." Think of being able to actually talk to the driver next to you... (shiver!)

Maybe we will evolve to the place where everyone wears a headphone and microphone, kinda like you would wear glasses. You'd always be in touch... then again.. you could just not wear them and it might accomplish the same thing.

We are a species in need of constant stimulation it appears. Music pounding our ears, TV pulsing our eyes, vibraters shaking our skin, ATVs bouncing our brains against our skulls, etc.

Just to relax... what's that? Quiet? What's that? Calm, What's that...