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Perhap ADD isn't the most accurate term. It's more like autism where people retreat to a world of their own as they are in the midst of society, ignoring it in the most blatant anti-social way.
My Dad was a cop most of his life and he was supreme at talking to strangers and passing the time of day striking up polite conversations with people he'd meet. Of course this is alien and old fashioned in concept nowadays. But my Dad found it pleasurable to interact verbally with his fellows in public surroundings.
When I find myself in public if I catch myself ignoring my surrounding humans and conciously make an effort to smile, make eye contact and even comment on something to someone just for the heck of it. I think about my Dad and how he'd say that speaking to a stranger kindly might be the high point of their day as folks have some pretty sad lives sometimes.
Music in a car is one thing but I don't want or need a sound track to accompany every moment of my life outside my home as I walk into the bank, buy something at the hardware store or pick up an oil filter at Kragen.
I found as a cop my Dad was keenly aware of his surroundings. No detail eluded him and I feel he was richer for it. He used to tell me how distracted people make the best crime targets and I can see that. Zombied out folks are vulnerable to pickpockets, purse snatchers, armed robbers, and more. They also don't see those things happening to someone else. Whether they'd interact and warn them or not is another issue.
Back in the 60s we went through an era of "it's not my business," where people actually turned a blind eye and deaf ear to crimes being perpetrated against their peers. They'd hear screams and see people being mugged and ignore it! Perhaps this ubiquitous disembodied 2006 zombie stare thing reminds me of that. At any rate it ain't right, but that's just my opinion.
My Dad was a cop most of his life and he was supreme at talking to strangers and passing the time of day striking up polite conversations with people he'd meet. Of course this is alien and old fashioned in concept nowadays. But my Dad found it pleasurable to interact verbally with his fellows in public surroundings.
When I find myself in public if I catch myself ignoring my surrounding humans and conciously make an effort to smile, make eye contact and even comment on something to someone just for the heck of it. I think about my Dad and how he'd say that speaking to a stranger kindly might be the high point of their day as folks have some pretty sad lives sometimes.
Music in a car is one thing but I don't want or need a sound track to accompany every moment of my life outside my home as I walk into the bank, buy something at the hardware store or pick up an oil filter at Kragen.
I found as a cop my Dad was keenly aware of his surroundings. No detail eluded him and I feel he was richer for it. He used to tell me how distracted people make the best crime targets and I can see that. Zombied out folks are vulnerable to pickpockets, purse snatchers, armed robbers, and more. They also don't see those things happening to someone else. Whether they'd interact and warn them or not is another issue.
Back in the 60s we went through an era of "it's not my business," where people actually turned a blind eye and deaf ear to crimes being perpetrated against their peers. They'd hear screams and see people being mugged and ignore it! Perhaps this ubiquitous disembodied 2006 zombie stare thing reminds me of that. At any rate it ain't right, but that's just my opinion.
