History Adventuring

New technology can be wonderful, and it can be awful. And nowadays when most people think of "technology" they think of computers, and cell phones. Speaking for myself, I love that kinda stuff - my career in graphic design grew with the introduction of computers, and although I was slow in getting a Smartphone, I really like mine. I'm even looking forward to owning a self-driving car someday. But there are a lot of people who object to new technology, and there always has been. Lately I've been thinking about the people who must have objected to electric lighting, which came fairly late to places like Phoenix, Arizona. Since we're so used to electric lighting, it's hard to imagine a time when it was a new technology. But it wasn't really all that long ago in Phoenix, it started appearing just after the turn of the century. Businesses started installing it, as did wealthy people. Let's time-travel. "You'll never catch me walking into a building

Walk with me. If you're like most of the people that I know, here in suburban Phoenix, you don't walk very often. Most of the people that I know have cars, with air conditioning, and comfortable seats, and when they park they search for the closest spot to a building, to minimize how much walking they have to do. And it really does make sense, why walk when you can ride, especially in a city that routinely gets temperatures of over 100 degrees? There are wonderful places to walk, along the beach, in a leafy glade, but Phoenix has never been one of those places. Walking has always been miserable in Phoenix, in spite of how idyllic it might look in old photos. Since we're walking in our imagination, I'm going to ask you to slow down, because I'm using a cane. Every once in a while I hear someone say that Phoenix was ruined by cars (I've been known to say that myself) but it's not really true - Phoenix has been a successful city because of cars. We take them so