Working Up

by Dwayne Phillips

Whatever the era, we have our phrases that indicate convenience. And we crave convenience.

When I was a kid, way back in the 60s of the 20th century, my family took long trips in the car. The “worst thing in the world” was to be driving a curvy, two-lane road. You would always find yourself behind a truck that had to drive slowly to navigate the twists and turns. Gosh.

The four-lane Interstate highways were wonderful. You could pass the truck and be on your way merrily driving at the speed limit instead of 10 mph less. The one phrase that we smiled with joy was, “It’s Interstate all the way.” That meant speed. That meant less time in the car.

That meant convenience.

Today, it’s (almost) always Interstate all the way. So what?

Yet, today, we still crave convenience. We have new phrases that replace the one about Interstate highways. Examples:

• We are on Facebook.
• We are on Twitter.
• We have an app for that.
• You can do that online.

Ah, convenience, the solution to everything, or is it?