S: Our current vignette starts with Lydia Grace talking about how impatient she gets lately. Things like a relatively slow loading internet site really annoy her, she says.

H: That brought home to me how much the world has changed. I remember the computers I used back in high school and college. Forget the internet. I just used word processing software and some simple games. And those programs took so much longer to boot up than they do now. The word processing software I wrote today’s text on, for example, it took literally 2 seconds to open the files. Back in the day it would’ve taken, what, 15 seconds?  Today I’d be whacking on my laptop if it took that long, saying “Oh come on, what’s wrong with this thing?”

S: The A&A staff talk about other forms of instant gratification in modern society, including smartphone apps for getting taxis and immediate access to information and entertainment.

H: And that kind of instant gratification certainly has good elements as well as bad. The ability to buy a new book or access magazines with just one click must encourage people to read more. I know I’ve bought a lot of books I might never have read otherwise because I didn’t have to go to the bookstore or because it was available at a cheaper price online.

I do worry sometimes, however, about the downside of not having to choose in a lot of situations. We had many more limits on our time and on our access to different things in the past. And that meant we couldn’t have it all, so to speak. We often had to choose between A or B. If we wanted one thing, it meant sacrificing another. Now we can watch the same movie or TV show a half dozen ways, for example. And I worry that convenience like that can make us greedy as well as impatient. You know, we don’t have to compromise or focus nearly as much.


S: So are you taking any steps toward slow living like the A&A staff?

H: I’ve actually been working on creating a slow space in my house. We have a spare room that’s been a makeshift storage space for years now. We’ve just tossed things in there that we weren’t using. I now in the process of converting it into a reading/play room. As I was planning how to decorate it, I realized I wanted to give our family a place to slow down. I’m thinking about putting in some low couches or cushions, for example, so we can lounge around in there reading. No technology will be allowed. No TV, smartphones, etc. And I want it to have a very natural feel. I’m thinking light colored wood and light green fabrics, like a spring garden.

S: The vignette also talks about the pleasure of slow travel.