QuickFixSociety

QuickFixSocietyMyhusbandandIjustgotbackfromaweek'svacationinWestVirginia.Ofcourse,wecouldn'twaittogetthere,sowetookthePennsylvaniaTurnpikeandacoupleofinterstates.Lookatthosegorgeousfarms!myhusbandexclaimedaspastoralsceneryslidbyusat55mph.Didyouseethosecows?Butat55mph,it'sdifficulttoseeanything;thegorgeousfarmslooklikemovinggreencheckerboards,andtheherdofcowsisreducedtoafewdotsintherear-viewmirror.Forfourhours,ouronlyrealamusementconsistedofcountingexitsignsandwonderingwhatitwouldfeelliketoholdstillagain.Gettingtherecertainlydidn'tseemlikehalfthefun;infact,gettingtherewasn'tanyfunatall.So,whenitwastimetoreturntoourhomeoutsideofPhiladelphia,Iinsistedthatwetakeadifferentroute.Let'sexplorethatcountryside,Isuggested.Thetwodaysittookustomakethereturntripwerefilledwithnewexperiences.WetouredaCivilWarbattlefieldandstoodonthelittlehillthatfifteenthousandConfederatesoldiershadtriedtotakeonanotherhotJulyafternoon,onehundredandtwenty-fiveyearsago,notknowingthathalfofthemwouldgetkilledinthevainattempt.WedroveslowlythroughmainstreetsofsleepyPennsylvaniaDutchtowns,slowingtotwentymilesanhoursoasnottocrowdthehorsesandhorsecarriagesontheirwaytomarket.Weadmiredtoytrainsandantiquecarsincountymuseumsandsaved70percentinfactoryoutlets.Westuffedourselveswithspicysaladsandhomemadebreadinanall-you-can-eatfarmhouserestaurant,thenwanderedoutsidetoenjoythesunshineandtheherdsofcows—nolittledotsthistime—lyinginit.Andwereturnedhomerefreshed,revitalized,andreeducated.Thistime,gettingtherehadbeenthefun.Whyisitthatthefeaturelessturnpikesandinterstatesaretheroutesofchoiceforsomanyofus?Whydoesn'teverybodytryslowingdownandexploringthecountryside?Butmoreandmore,thefastlaneseemstobetheonlywayforustogo.Infact,mostAmericansareconstantlyinahurry—andnotjusttogetfromPointAtoPointB.Ourcountryhasbecomeanationinsearchofthequickfix—inmorewaysthanone.Nowinsteadoflater:Onceuponatime,Americansunderstoodtheprincipleofdeferredgratification.Weputalittleofeachpaycheckawayforarainyday.Ifwewantedanewsofaoraweekatalakesidecabin,wesavedupforit,andthebankshelpedusoutbyprovidingspecialChristmasClubandVacationClubaccounts.Ifwelivedintherightpartofthecountry,weplantedcornandbeansandwaitedpatientlyfortheharvest.Ifwewantedtobethinner,wesimplyatelessofourfavoritefoodsandwaitedpatientlyforthescaletodrop,apoundatatime.Buttodaywearen'tsopatient.Wetakeoutloansinsteadofmakingdeposits,orweuseourcreditcardtogetthatfurnitureorvacationtrip—relaxnow,paylater.Webuyourfood,likeourclothing,ready-madeandofftherack.Andifwe'reinahurrytoloseweight,wetrythelatestmiraclediet,guaranteedtotakeawaytenpoundsintendays...unlesswe'rerichenoughtoaffordliposuction.Fasterinsteadofslower:Notonlydowewantitnow;wedon'tevenwanttobekeptwaitingforit.Thisgeneralimpatience,theI-hate-to-waitattitude,hasinfectedeverylevelofourlives.Insteadofstandinginlineatthebank,wewithdrawtwentydollarsinasmanysecondsfromanautomatictellermachine.Thenwetakeourfastmoneytoafastconveniencestore(whywaitinlineatthesupermarket?),wherewebuyafrozendinnerallwrappedupandreadytobeputintothemicrowave...unlesswedon'tcaretowaiteventhatlongandpickupsomefastfoodinstead.Andifourfastmealdoesn'tagreewithus,wehurrytothemedicinecabinetfor—youguessedit—somefastrelief.Welikefastpictures,sowebuyPolaroidcameras.Welikefastentertainment,sowerecordourfavoriteTVshowontheVCR.Welikeourinformationfast,too:messagesflashedonacomputerscreen,documentsfaxedfromyourtelephonetomine,currenteventsin90-secondburstsonEyewitnessNews,historyreducedtoBicentennialMinutes.Symbolically,theAmericaneaglenowfliesforExpressMail.HowdareanyonekeepAmericawaitinglongerthanovernight?Superficiallyinsteadofthoroughly:What'smore,wedon'tevenwantallofit.Once,welingeredovereverywordofaclassicnovelorthelatestbestseller.Today,sincefasterisbetter,wereadthecondensedversionorputatapeofthebookintoourcar'stapeplayertolistentoonthewaytowork.OrwebuytheCliff'sNotes,especiallyifwearestudents,sowedon'thavetodealwiththebookatall.Once,welistenedtoeverynoteofBeethoven'sFifthSymphony.Today,wedon'thavethetime;instead,wecanenjoy26secondsofthatfamousda-da-da-DUMtheme—and99othermusicalexcerptsalmostasfamous—onourGreatestMomentsoftheClassicsCD.Afterall,whywaste45minuteslisteningtothewholethingwhensomeoneelsehassavedusthetroubleofpickingoutthebestparts?Ourmagazinearticlescometouspre-digestedinReader'sDigest.Ournewsbriefings,thankstoUSAToday,aremorebriefthanever.Evenourpersonalrelationshipshavebecomecompressed.Insteadofdevotinglargepartsofourdaystoourlovedones,wereplacethemwithsomethingcalledqualitytime,which,moreoftenthannot,isnotimeatall.Aswerushfrombooktomusictonewsitemtorelationship,wedonotrealizethatwearelivingourlivesbytheicebergprinciple—payingattentiononlytothetopandignoringthe8/9thatliesjustbelowthesurface.Whendiditallbegin,thisurgetodoitnow,togetitoverwith,toskimthesurfaceoflife?Whyareweinsuchahurrytosavetime?Andwhatarewegoingtodowithallthetimewesavebesides,ofcourse,rushingouttosavesomemore?Thesadtruthisthatwedon'tknowhowtousethetimewesave,becauseallwe'regoodatissavingtime...notspendingtime.Don'tgetmewro