You've Got Mail!

It started like any typical Monday morning. I headed to my den to check the morning mail - the e-mail that is. I was waiting for some replies to e-mails that I had sent over the weekend. I needed to check the tracking information on some products that I had ordered online. I needed to see if there were any prayer chain requests that I needed to send out to the prayer chain which we supervise. I wanted to check to see if my newest blog was online as scheduled. I wanted to update my website. I was hoping to get an update on my cousin who has been in the hospital for several weeks. I wanted to see if there were any updates and new verbals on the Penn State website which I check daily. And I wanted to see if there were any messages from friends, either by e-mail or on Facebook. But after my computer fired up I found that I couldn't get online. I tried our other computer with the same results. And I checked our new iPad and found the same problem. I tried a different browser and still couldn't get online. In frustration I checked all the connections. I unplugged the modem and the router, reset them, and rebooted with no change. Then I decided to call Verizon, our internet supplier. I finally waded through all their menus and finally received a message that there had been an outage in the Lancaster area but service was now restored. I was told to pull out the power supplies to the modem and router, wait 60 seconds, plug them back in and reboot. For the second time I did that and still had no service. Frustration was now building up. It was amazing to me how isolated I began to feel. I was not able to communicate with the outside world - at least by computer. It almost felt like we had a snowstorm or bad electrical storm and were housebound with no electricity. I then had a reality check and realized that it was just the internet and I could survive without it. But I kept trying, unsuccessfully, throughout the morning. Finally, early in the afternoon I decided to call Verizon once again. I spent 35 minutes going through their phone system. They required me to go through the routine of unplugging and rebooting once again before I could talk to a real person. Finally I reached what I guess was a real person who spoke in broken English. Despite their recorded message that all service was restored, I think he told me that their technicians were still working on the problem and that it would soon be restored. I gave up and decided just to wait. A few hours later it was restored and life returned to "normal". But the experience reminded me of how much we are learning to depend upon the modern technology. I was embarrassed to realize how isolated I felt when I couldn't use it. And yet I am not alone. I still am amazed to see folks everywhere - driving, shopping, walking - talking into their phones. Many others are listening to their iPods. How dependent we've become. I am convinced that one of the biggest terror threats to our country is the loss of electricity and internet service. We couldn't bank, we couldn't buy, we couldn't communicate, and we'd all feel isolated. And that might be devastating to many in today's technology dependent society. That's enough for now - I really need to check my e-mail.