John: Attention span of a gnat, the sound-bite generation
Nov 12 2009 by John Avison, Huddersfield Daily Examiner
John: Attention span of a gnat, the sound-bite generation
“We had the biggest garden in a fairly built-up area and we also had the biggest family so the neighbours assumed the street bonfire would be at our place,” said Pip.
“Everybody contributed something, and you were in from start to finish, no sneaking off after the last rocket.”
That was not the case at the public bonfire we attended. The public in question behaved just like human gnats; descending in huge droves, grabbing a beer, a flashing light-sabre or stroboscopic bunny ears, rushing to the hot-dog tent for an armful of meat products, charging over to the bonfire, belting across the firework display, oohing and aahing appropriately ... and then vanishing, sated, like mist, as the last piece of burnt magnesium fluttered down out of the sky.
Why so hasty? Why not turn it into a time to chat to the neighbours, to have a joke round the fire?
No. We want it all, we want it now, and when we’ve had it, we’re off.
This isn’t a criticism. After all, Pip and I did exactly the same: in, grab the goodies, and out.
It’s more sorrow that the pace of life has speeded up to such an extent that we may be overlooking important things on the way.
You can see a lot more from a bike than you can from a car, and even more when you’re walking.
“A poor life this if, full of care,
We have no time to stand and stare,” wrote the tramps’ poet, William Henry Davies.
He was right.
