Don’t wear a mask, do wear a mask, don’t wear one in school, do wear one in school, but only if your name is Robert and definitely wear one if you wish to stop breathing or definitely wear one when someone in class has farted.
The guidance on masks has been fraught with misinformation, miscommunication and u-turns. 2020 will definitely go down as the year that masks went viral, literally!
And what if that actually was true? I was walking Pip the Dog one morning and I was a little later than usual, when often I pass some kids walking on their way to school.
Without fail every single one is holding a smart phone clutched in one hand and sometimes both hands, like some prized possession. And yes they are walking and staring at their phone all at the same time. They definitely can’t see where they are going. I often want to walk directly towards them with my arms open, but then I know that would get me into trouble big time, so I don’t.
I’m sure as a parent you have no idea that your kid is doing this, correct? I’ve even seen several kids walking together all staring at their phones. Wow, that’s a really sad situation.
When mobile phones first came out, we weren’t holding them in our hands whilst walking and staring at them, because there was nothing to stare at. We would get the phone out of our bag or briefcase when we needed to call someone or accept an incoming call. Now with the advent of smart phones they are not just phones, they are addiction devices.
Kids are addicted, adults are addicted, we’re all addicted to our phones.
Oh, by the way, it was a beautiful sunny day, fluffy clouds, birdsong, trees bending in the breeze and they missed all of it. They didn’t have a clue, the day passed them by, never to be experienced again.
I don’t blame the smartphone makers as such, I blame the app makers, the social media tech companies, whose sole objective has and always will be to make us totally addicted to their advertising engines.
Ka-ching!!
Thankfully his older brother and friends who were much older and stronger were nearby outside the school to protect him from any danger that could have been nearby. Just as well because Michael was not as strong and tall as his peers, which meant that he was very vulnerable to being chased down and beaten up.
It was probably one of the first fearful moments in his young life and an event that will unlikely ever be forgotten by him.
It was lunchtime in Amsterdam outside the Moreelse Mavo School where Michael attended with his older brother and his twin sister. The school was very close to the Vincent van Gogh museum and the main cultural area in the centre of Amsterdam, including the Rijksmuseum and the Concertgebouw.
The man looked vicious, angry and on a mission to harm Michael. All Michael could do was to run to his older brother at full speed, whilst being chased by a much older man, who was now running at full speed and catching Michael metre by metre.
JIMMY, HELP!!!!
Jimmy heard him and immediately came to the rescue with his friends who stood together like a solid wall of muscle and strength. Michael quickly hid behind them and the man walked in the other direction whilst keeping his arm and index finger outstretched pointing at Michael whilst muttering the words, I WILL GET YOU! (Ik krijg je wel).
To this day young Michael had no idea who this man was and why he wanted to beat him up. He never saw the man again, but the memory stayed with him forever and the fear of meeting him again haunted him daily for a number of years afterwards.