I had to laugh and also just shake my head in utter amazement at the woman who, while texting, fell face first into a mall fountain (watch video here) in Pennsylvania. I laughed at her acrobatics. She wasn’t hurt. It’s funny. Hollywood has made people laugh for decades with the site of people falling down. Chevy Chase made falling down into a comedic art form on Saturday Night Live. The fountain fall was a classic.
I shook my head in amazement to find that the woman, Cathy Cruz Marrero, has explored legal action. Good grief! Is she serious?
Then we find that Ms. Marrero has a questionable history .
Now it all makes perfect sense to me. She’s a victim because people laughed at her, nobody came to her aid and there may be a payday if the lawyer plays it right. Please.
When I first saw the video, I felt a little sorry for her. We can all do stupid things … but I cannot imagine why anyone would have sympathy for her now that she’s talked about legal action. She fell into the fountain because of her own lack of attention. There is nobody else to blame and the thought of someone being on the receiving end of a lawsuit because of this mishap is ludicrous to me.
There is a point to all this. I think the fact she fell into the fountain while texting is a microcosm of a bigger problem.
Text messaging has become so pervasive in our society that at any given moment, in any given setting, people are heads down texting, oblivious to the world around them. I have been run into by a woman in One Alliance Center, our building, who was texting while walking. I also saw a guy ride the elevator down to the lobby of our building who was so focused on his text messaging session that he didn’t get off and had to ride the elevator back up before he could descend to the lobby once again. Oops.
I serve as an usher in my church … just one week ago, as we passed the collection plate, I had to whisper to one parishioner who was texting during the service (which, in my opinion is completely unacceptable) to please pass the plate.
My son who works a check out register at a local supermarket says about half the customers who come through the line are either texting or talking on the phone and if he needs to ask them a question it’s like pulling teeth to get an answer.
WHAT in the world could be so important that you cannot hold off on a text until church is over, until you get through the checkout line, until you park your car … until you are done with WHATEVER?
Look, I know social media is a viable and very important communications medium and texting is a vital component. But I wonder where the boundaries should be drawn. Is it really necessary to be communicating via text messaging with others outside of your immediate vicinity every waking minute of every day?
I don’t know if is possible to put this genie back in the bottle … maybe constant texting is just a fad that will go the way of dodo bird, but I’m not holding my breath. Yes, texting is a useful tool, but like so many other things in life, when used in excess, there are problems.
I wonder how long it will be until orthopedists are seeing patients with repetitive stress injuries from texting? Heck, maybe they already are seeing such cases. Or maybe plastic surgeons are seeing increased business from people doing face-plants into mall fountains. Okay, maybe the potential economic impact is an upside, but enough already!