In the early 80s, technology to us was the television (the console type, if you were fancy it came with a little box that let you change the channels!), the record player, rotary phone (with the extended cord), the two-dimensional pong game (bleep, bleep), and, if you were lucky, the latest and greatest video game- Atari (can you say…Space Invaders). Back in my day, we didn’t have all of the current technology kids have now. But, we had plenty of face-to-face conversations with our neighbors. But, since then, plenty of innovative inventions such as the cell phone, wireless internet, Google, Social Networks, and Cable TV, have been introduced. They have increased our ability to obtain things faster, and we have become more efficient. However, some of these inventions have hurt us more than we realized or would like to admit. These innovations have undoubtedly stolen precious, non-retractable time from our lives and our loved ones. They have become time wasters. The very thing they were made to give us more of. If we aren’t catching …

Many of us are familiar with the saying “born with a silver spoon in your mouth”. In short, it is a saying to represent a person born into a wealthy family. However, you may not know the history behind that saying. In the 1700s, it was common for individuals to bring their own spoons to the table. Having a silver spoon conveyed your social class, and at times was a way to identify land- owners from slaves. Hence, silver spoons were linked to wealth. In the mid 70s, I came into this world with a plastic spoon in my mouth. My teenage, runaway parents were penniless, pinched for money, down-and-out, flat broke… But according to my dad, my mom and him were poor, but proud. They were determined to make it, on their own. Back in my day, we didn’t have much, but we were resourceful and appreciative with what we had. We were so poor that when I was four years old and my sister was two years old, my mom moved most of …