Waiting to be connected

I’m in the process of moving, so right now I’m sitting on a bare floor waiting for the Time-Warner cable guy to show up (between the hours of 1 p.m. and 4 p.m.) and legitimize my existence…at least to the extent that he can.

While this process is something I’ve become inured to over the years, it’s still a little weird to accept being only half a person until this perfect stranger shows up and "plugs me in," giving me the ability to go forth with head held high, secure in the knowledge that I can tune into "Dexter" or MSNBC…or check prices of used books on Amazon whenever I please. But right now my television seems to be in a coma, a vegetative state, devoid of any higher function of producing images. I know it’s still "alive," though, because of the teltale amber "idiot light."

I wonder if there was a time when life actually was simpler than it is today, or if that’s just another myopic bill of goods shoved down our throats to keep us starving for novelty. I suppose that it’s comforting to know that the only answer will be forthcoming at the time that current experience qualifies as hindsight. Whew!

Wait — I think I see him now: shades, tools dangling from each side…it’s him! Yippee!!!

– Doug Weaver