Texting Now and Mini-Skirts Then

Could Be Dangerous to Your Health

Today’s Associated Press story indicates that texting while walking could be injurious as it diverts a person’s concentration while they are involved with the simple act of putting one foot in front of the other.

A Sign of the Times Now

The article described a woman in the Silicon Valley who was not paying any attention to where she was walking whilst texting and ran into a sign. Her injury was not serious, however an Ohio State University study showed that in 2008 emergency room visits for similar actions doubled to more than one thousand for pedestrians who were texting.

A Sign of the Times Then

In 1968 I attended a conference in New York City and outside the hotel a young woman in a mini-skirt exited a taxi and bent over as she reached in to pay the driver revealing all of her lower limbs. A middle-aged, well-suited businessman, who was watching her as he walked by, ran into a bus stop sign.  Both he and the sign quivered. I laughed as I retreated into the hotel where another similarly dressed woman was sashaying through the lobby turning the heads of a bevy of businessmen standing around. One businessman who was walking in the other direction, turned his head to follow her motion as he continued on. He ran into a wall and the wall did not quiver. 

Lessons Learned

If you are in a situation that requires your undivided attention and you have your choice of which of two actions to take, stop for a moment and take the one that will make you the happiest without requiring a visit to an ER.