Tech

 I left my phone at home last week. Realized it when I told my car to call Mister, and it said, "Please connect a phone." Whaaa? I fought back a little panic. 

• What if I had car trouble?
• What if someone RSVPed for the neighborhood potluck? 
• What if the contractors needed to know something about the new construction?
• How will I let my family know I don't have the phone?

And drat. I hadn't done today's WORDLE puzzle yet. 

Seriously. I used to drive across the eastern half of the US without a phone. I actually have an office phone I can use (which I did to call Daughter to tell her to tell Dad what my office phone number is in case he needs something). Then... eerie silence.

No call from Mister at noon to check in as is our custom. 

No games to play during break. Well, I actually did WORDLE online. I was hoping to secure the answer, then plug it in to my phone when I got home and look like a genius, but alas, when I finally got to my phone it said I'd already played for the day. 

This month's Anabaptist World Review features articles on technology and the Amish. Is there something Mennonites can learn from their Amish cousins choice to skip modernity? 

We live among the Amish and have Amish friends. When I was first married, I was supposed to deliver our Amish neighbor to a field we were harvesting so he could take over driving the combine for Mister. Amish were new to me, and I remember my little Ford Escort seemed to cram us awfully close in the front seat. When we arrived, I got out my newly acquired thick phone with the analog sleeve, and was struggling to work it. The Amish neighbor said, "Here, let me show you." And proceeded to call to tell Mister we'd arrived!

Later, this family left the Amish church to become Beachy Amish, could have electricity and drive cars, but the women still dressed conservatively. I remember asking our friend how to trim my grapes so they'd grow better (figuring she'd have all the received wisdom) and she said, "Oh, Google it." 

The Amish in our area continue to strain against the restrictions of their church discipline. Some divisions now can have tractors with rubber tires. Wow, those steel wheels on tractors were rough. My father-in-law used to say those steel wheels would shake the hell right out of you! Now that rubber is okay, we see tractors being used as pick-up trucks to get to town and pull implements. I noticed an Amish woman drove hers to the grocery store. Much quicker than the horse and buggy. 

I don't think we can go back, and I sure don't want to be without the Internet and the cell phone. But technology sabbaticals sure can be a way to rest, reset, and keep our priorities straight.