No escaping it

This techno thing is woven into all our lives.

Waking up on Sunday morning and discovering I am out of coffee rates right up there with a root canal. Yesterday I experienced just such pain. Padding down to the kitchen in my polar fleece jammies and slippers -- mornings are getting cool here in New Hampshire but I am too cheap to turn on the furnace yet -- I was sure I could smell the Colombian Supremo already brewing. Thats when the bottom fell out of my five-minute-old day.

No Java. What could be worse?

"Dont think about it," I said to myself. "Just throw something on and run down to Drunk and Go Nuts for a fix." Praying that I wouldnt meet anyone I knew, I slipped into my sweats, said the heck with makeup, and headed out the door.

Parking spaces were already at a premium at 6:30 a.m. Customers were queued eight deep. Hiding behind my sons shades (lucky me, I found them in the car), I took my place at the end of row three. Naturally, it was the snail-trail to the counter. I have a knack for this.

While checking out the crowd to see how glamorous other Nashuans were at that time of day, I couldnt help but overhear some nearby conversations.

"I know Best Buy has the new HP-832C printer on sale for under 200 bucks," said the unshaven guy next to me.

His buddy nodded. "Yeah, but youre gonna use it every day in your office, why not go for the 970-CSE? I hear its worth every dime."

Over on my left, where the line was moving like a conveyor belt, another conversation was taking place. "I dunno where its all gonna end...ATT takin' over AOL. What ever happened to that monopoly thing? Everybody is buying everybody else. Orwell had it right." I never heard the response to that one. Their line moved too fast.

I had company now; more early risers who had picked the wrong line. I smiled at a father and son. "What kind of Munchkins do you want, Josh?" the tattooed young man asked his sleepy son. "Jelly and powdered," Josh said, twisting around his father's legs. "Dad, when are you going to buy me a game for my 'puter?"

"Jeez," I said -- I was talking to my uncaffeinated self, it's an early morning affliction -- "you cant get away from high-tech, not even early on Sunday morning. Dont people know there are other things in life?"

Still waiting, my mind wandered to a commercial I had recently seen on TV. Another group on the same wavelength -- parents standing on the sidelines of a college soccer game -- individually ruminating over the impact tuition has on their pocketbooks. All, that is, except one handsome woman with a secure smile. "Thank you, Paine Webber," she congratulates her prudent self.

I chuckled quietly. Frankly, at that moment I was more grateful to Juan Valdez.

"Can I help you, Ma'am?" asked someone from behind the goal line.

"Yes, a pound of dark roast ground fine, please."

The clerk was new, so it took longer than usual to get my precious pound of oomph. I found myself growing a bit impatient. After all, I needed to get home and check my e-mail. I had DVD software to install and I needed to figure out why I was getting unannounced disconnects from my ISP. I had things to do.

It was then that it hit home. You can't escape it. This techno thing is woven into all our lives. How could I have thought otherwise, even early on a Sunday morning?

My transaction was complete. I made my way back to my car, anxious to get the kettle going and to head upstairs to my office.