Technology May Not Be Progress

In previous posts I have mentioned my Dad.  He is 88 years old and lives with us.  Almost a year ago my Mom passed away and due to poor eyesight dad was unable to live alone.  He is an easy going man who never talked very much.  My mom was the mouthpiece for the family.  As time goes by, he is talking more and today he told me a story I hadn't heard before.

Kids used to play outside and entertain themselves.  They used to make things and build things to play with.  My Dad told how he had a friend who was interested in airplanes.  They would build airplanes and play with them.  He and his friend once took scrap lumber and made a plane that was eight feet long.  It had a big wing span.  They would sit in it and pretend to fly.  Much later my Dad was in the Army Air Corp (became the Air Force in 1947) in World War II and flew 44 missions.  He certainly had his fill of flying after that experience. 

At the same time they were building airplanes, Dad decided that he wanted to make a kite.  You couldn't afford to just go to the store and buy one.  He said he got some sticks and some brown wrapping paper.  He attached the sticks together and covered it with the paper.  He can't remember how he attached the paper to the sticks, but he must have done a good job.  Then he tied rags on the bottom for a tail.  He said it worked beautifully.  There was a big hill across the road from his grandma's house.  He would stand on the hill and fly the kite.  Sometimes he would stake it out and it would fly all night.  One time it flew for a week.  Then one time he was able to get a new kite from the store.  He put it together but it never flew as well as the ones he would make.

My daughter took away all technology for the weekend and my grandchildren didn't know what to do with themselves.   They call it progress but I think we have lost something in the process.  Kids and many adults have a hard entertaining themselves.