Vicious Dogs Cut Loose On Crowd Waiting For New I-Phone? We're Always Home But There's No One There.

There's absolutely no truth, as far as I know, to the rumor that vicious dogs were loosed on a crowd awaiting the new I-Phone 4. The crowds supposedly were unruly in certain places, but the rest I just made up.

What's going on? Cellphones for most people do not draw us closer, but keep us apart. I understand they are useful as a tool for business, emergencies, and to keep your kids safe. But do we need to be plugged in always? And at what cost?

If one chats on a cellphone while walking the dog, well, it's not the end of the world. Though the dog might want some more attention, he'll survive. I saw a lady the other day walking in my neighborhood, chatting on a cellphone while she had a child in the stroller. This is not meant as an indictment of chatting on the cellphone, but our children are more important.It's not that we can't stroll and talk, but where does the chat end?

I live in Northern California, in a somewhat rural area. There's a huge open space park probably 1/3 of a mile from me. There's horses in my neighborhood, a vineyard, and beautiful vistas of the hills and bay. Do we engage our children on such walks? Look at the horse, look at the birds? No, our chats about nothing are more important.

What really have we to talk about at the grocery store? Here's how any grocery store conversation should go. 

"Hello, I'm at the grocery store. Do you need anything? A quart of milk, okay. See you soon."

Everyone is on the phone. We are so obsessed with our own self-importance that we ignore those around us.

Our children are busy texting instead of talking to us. Our relations ignore us in favor of their friends. We even have devices so we don't have to use our hands as we walk about, ignoring our surroundings and those real folks we see.

A park bench doesn't lead to a new friend and conversation with that friend, but to an opportunity to blab on our cells.We air our business, or lack thereof while we are supposed to be conversing at a restaurant.

I'm not so lame that I don't know this is a lost cause. I seem to be choosing a lot of lost causes these days. I would write more on this subject, but you know what? I have a call coming in.

I'm still compiling a list of pet adoption agencies on The Dog Chronicles Page on Facebook. I want to make it easy for people to post a dog that needs adopting with just a couple of clicks. To get to the Facebook page, enter http:// before you enter The Dog Chronicles. I will add agencies often until I get them all I hope. If just one of you will post a dog from your local area that needs adopting, maybe one of your friends will follow your lead. That's all I ask.

Photos Courtesy of Flickr. Thanks Andy, Spikeblacklab, Ed Yourdon, Alex Segre, and Stephadamo.