Postal Services - Byte This

In the land before bits and bytes, the postal service delivered all the mail, the magazines, communications with the outside personal world of wee-human beings. Now, I don't receive very much mail,
and I did sign up for the 'No More Junk' mail blocking service to save a tree. Yet, when I look at my parent's mail, she gets much more paper than I do. In the form of companies requesting donating dollars for little trinkets have a market with the elderly and their non-mobile disposable
income:

Political groups
Environmental groups
Humanitarian groups
Ethnically underserved groups
Elderly Associations
Religious Associations
Health Awareness Associations
And more....

The most important part of getting money, giving some trinket to the donor. A pin, a sticker, a photo, a calendar - large and small, a rosary, a pack of Holiday Greeting cards with envelopes, book markers, maps, ethnic related cultural items such as dream catcher, a chain with medallion and more.
My mom opened a drawer of trinkets filled with things she couldn't really toss out in the trash, as many were useful, cute, and very different. Moreover, what could she say but, 'they sent it to me.'
Then, my mom felt compelled to send them something in return, in the form of a check. And, I just got her off the publisher's sweepstakes buy-to-win jag.

TV - The Idiot Box

The idiot box phrase began somewhere between color tv without a remote when 'Lost in Space' was a date weekly not to be missed and PBS was just starting their kiddy programming in the mornings. One with the alphabet and number learning I already knew, so I was bored and stared at something else. This is all when it was really still safe to play outside, with anyone or be outside alone and wandering with the dog. The idiot box was her consternation about abandoning real life and its experiential learning. The idiot box phrase entered my mother's mind and came out her mouth to me as a child and as a teenager. Now, I wanted to say it to her. "Turn off that Idiot Box and get a life!" Yet, she had the full tilt, news to sports, music to history channel cable tv on most of the daytime. Radio reception was moderate for variety, but the TV was always on. And my mom began to parked in front of it each waking hour. Fully outfitted for leisure with the telephone nearby, cup holder, side coffee table and the remote control. Entranced by the cooking, home-making shows it became our conversation sharing touchstone. It was a place to wave our flag of commentary how they were doing, just like she did before they invented that new fangled machine. Then I caught myself, and didn't say, 'turn off the idiot box,' because she already knew she should. Yet couldn't get out for real experiential living. It was her window to travel, health, mechanics, absurd people and lifestyles, psychology and coaching, movies and news. I would watch my mother absorb the terrorism, the natural disasters, the financial debacles and ask her about the latest news when I got home from work - in summary form. "What happened while I was working?" And I would be brought up to speed on the world I missed while I was out in the world living. I wondered who had the better in this life?