Thursday, June 10, 2010

I belong to...

...a private gym, exclusive to the residents of the building I live in. It is fairly well appointed, clean by standard practices, glassed in on three sides, and maintains a magnetic lock entry/exit system.

So I was not concerned today when, half way through my work out, one of my neighbors discovered we were locked in. I was confident that one of the building maintenance staff or someone from the leasing or management office would happen by on their way to the restroom. Surely, a fellow resident would happen off the elevator on their way to the billiards room, the ATM, the laundry or storage rooms, even the fitness center.

As my neighbor's concern mounted, a brief sense of claustrophobia played hide and seek with my conscience. I realized I was not free to go of my own accord, should that be my choice. I wondered how people in jail survive, and why they would ever go back. Surely, a little social conformity must be worth the freedom to move about as we please. I was trapped with no food, no water, no A/C!!! OK, the last part is a stretch, but it is amazing how many thought processes our brains can analyze in a matter of seconds.

As I joined my neighbor in, what surely must have appeared to our rescuer, as the church scene from "The Graduate", I realized this is what those pesky cell phones are meant for. Alas, I don't carry my pesky cell phone to the gym. As a reminder, of its use, it was ringing when I let myself into my apartment afterwards.

I am an unwilling member of the technology cult.

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