Just Some Thoughts

I may have mentioned in a previous post that we are aggravated at A&E for cancelling the show "Longmire".  This happened several weeks ago.  It is still being talked about and reported about in several areas.  The producers are hoping to find another network to carry the show, and we are hoping that happens.

But.... A&E's excuse and reasoning for the cancellation is that the majority of the show's viewers do not fit into the demographic they want to focus on - the eighteen to forty somethings.  Those of us that have watched the show and really like it are older.  Or as some of us are starting to call it "youth challenged".  We are mature, smart, thinking people, who for the most part have worked hard all our lives and are productive members of society with some money to spend.  We can not figure out why we aren't the ones that are wanted as viewers.  Let's be honest, we have the disposable income to buy the advertisers' products.

I am not saying that the Millennials, or Generation X, or whatever they are being called right now, are all bad.  In fact, a lot of them are extremely smart and technologically gifted.  But it is my opinion that a lot of them just simply do not have a good grasp on common sense and the basic knowledge needed to survive if the internet goes "down".  And a good portion of them don't have any idea what is going on around them at any given moment.

A case in point - Golfer and I went to Starbucks the other morning.  There were three young people in front of us in line.  The first one completed her order quickly and moved out of the way.  The young man let the other girl do his ordering.  Right there was the first mistake.  That girl didn't have a clue.  Obviously she had no consideration for the other folks behind her in line, a lot of whom were on the way to appointments or work.  She couldn't make a decision.  Didn't know what she wanted.  And she obviously couldn't do any math in her head, because after a selection she would ask how much is it, what is the total.  It ended up that after she completed her order, she didn't have enough money and had to shout out to the young man to come chip in.  It was a sad state of affairs that does not bode well for the future.

I've seen other examples while out doing errands and a young person is working the check out.  If the computer goes down and can't tell them what your change is, you're out of luck.  Most can't do the math and figure out change.  And heaven help you if you try to help and for a $3.06 bill give them a five dollar bill and six cents.  There's no telling what you might get back if the computer isn't working.  I actually tried to explain the concept to a young man once, but the line was getting long and I gave up and took the handful of coins I ended up with!

I acknowledge that some of us "youth challenged" folks might take a little longer to learn how to use all the technology in today's world.  I also know that that technology is usually a good thing.  But think about this - if all the computers in the world crashed and no longer worked, who is going to know how to survive?  Basic skills and just plain common sense and courtesy need to have a little more focus in our education system and in our parenting.

Stay safe!