MyPhone

MyPhone
By John R. Greenwood

I'm writing this piece on my new cell phone. After waiting several years for a phone upgrade at work I decided to wave the white flag and go off into the brave new world on my own. I'm now the proud new father of an iPhone 6+. I promised myself that I would use it to give my writing a little kick. I thought having easy access to all things creative might give me that spark to keep moving. I know it sounds like Jr. trying to convince mom and dad that buying him a car will save them from having to cart him back and forth to football practice, and it is--just like that. 

I am the king of justification. I need a new skill saw so I can cut straighter lines. I need a motorcycle so I can save on gas. As a society we do it automatically and we've gotten very good at it. Why else would we have wall sized flat screens that make you feel like you're at the drive-in. In general we're simply spoiled. 

I'll tell you my intention is to boost productivity. 

We'll see after I try that app that makes your voice sound like Bugs Bunny.

I'm going to make a conscious effort not to let myself turn into one of those neck-bent, zombie-like, oblivious to the escaped mountain lion headed my way individuals, but after thirty minutes on this puppy I think I might be in trouble. It's addictive and even exhilarating, especially when all I have to do is type "exh" and exhilarating pops up to fill the blank spaces of my brain.

I'm conflicted when it comes to technology and progress. On one hand I like simplicity and the good old days; on the other I love being able to explore the world while sitting on the couch with my feet on the coffee table. I know I would survive just fine without a search engine, but I don't want to. I feel empowered with Wikipedia at my fingertips. I've  YouTube'd my way through a handful of plumbing projects and Pandora'd myself to sleep more times than I can count, but I can also sit all day on a tree stump with nothing but a peanut butter sandwich and a cheap notebook listening to a mouthy squirrel and be as content as a monk on vacation.

I'm going to use MyPhone for good not evil. I will do my best to stay motivated and creative. I may look like a slug sitting here with my little-big phone rooting for America's Team to lose against Da Bears but I am really toning my Steinbeck and texting skills all at the same time.

So there it is, my first piece written on a phone while eating a slice of pie and watching Thursday Night Football.

Isn't it great?

And I haven't even tried the camera yet!

Look out world...     

Sent from my iPhone