Email Time

Recently, when my computer was down for three weeks, I realized moreso than ever, how easy and convenient it has been,
to communicate with "the world" via email, from my own home. I look forward to "email time", especially since I was driven
a while ago to call my internet service provider, and ask them to throttle spam intended for me, so it never gets through to
me, and they've done that, although some keeps slipping through. Anyway...I like email...it has boosted my communications
with people many times over...since the long hand letter writing days. It offers a pretty "laceration free" zone, in a way
person to person meetings and phone calls might not...given the way people can trigger each other as they converse...into
saying things they hadn't intended to say. As you compose an email, you have time to consult your "inner lawyer", if need be,
decide if this or that is what you really want to say, before you say it. I remember many times in the past being ambushed, when I picked up the phone, by someone I wasn't ready for then, or, any time. Emailing by-passes the ambush
factor, and you reply to an email, when you're ready for it, and only if you want to. Even as I sing the praises, however, I see
the danger of email becoming a place where people choose to hide away, from real contact with each other, and choose a
life of "virtual reality", instead. There always was, and there still is, a place in our human lives, for meeting eye ball to eye ball, or at least, being able to hear each other's voices on a phone line. In embracing the digital age, we want to make sure,
we still keep in our lives, times for "live interaction". whether it comes with lacerations sometimes, or not. Whatever we do, I don't think we want to become virtual reality phantoms, floating across the cool expanses of cyber space...never allowing ourselves to be exposed to the tear or the twinkle in each others eyes or voices, or, on-goingly repressing our ancient human need, at least some of the time, to be within touching distance of each other. Quester.