NIKA LEANDRA'S BOOKS

Back To The Roots! - Good morning!- In many ways we have been immensely progressive, and there's nothing wrong with that really, but it seems, we are not pulling on one and the same end but are rather unwinding the rope and grabbing the individual strands. As a consequence single parties fall behind once those fragile threads tear. This, of course, is just a metaphoric impression of how far we have actually moved apart from each other instead of getting or rather staying close(r). I'm definitely not any different than the rest, but still it worries me quite a bit to see where mankind, especially in the industrial world, is headed to. Here a few examples. Even though I personally don't recall the good old operator service in my country as I'm too young, I remember people saying that they missed it once it was gone. A nice female voice would establish the desired connections for any caller. Hard to imagine this in times where you are indeed lucky if you get a hold of somebody human at all. What's more, often times you have to deal with out- sourced services that are globally spread out and language- wise challenging to come by, to say the least. I am not keen at all on having to make phone calls that are dealing with customer service issues for the very simple reason that I just refuse to talk to a computer - no matter what language. Where the heck are all the humans?- Often people live in tightly- knit neighborhoods only in terms of local vicinity, it appears. More and more we choose not to get to know our next- door neighbors except for occasionally greeting and waving at them. Again, I have to include myself here as well, but still where have the golden times gone to as far as cherishing a healthy and mutually blossoming community sense? I do remember what life was like in the rural areas in the early 70's, when I was little. There were plenty of gatherings, barbecues, festivals, etc. People would get together literally anywhere and talk to each other, exchange information, pass on knowledge and wisdom first hand. How I miss those days! Today I find it extremely difficult to chum up with folks that often remain strangers for years. Nobody seems to care anymore for these old values. Instead we prefer not to be bothered by anyone and live secluded and lonely lives which is specifically crucial for older folks in urban areas. News such as, "Yesterday the dead body of a 76- year old male was found in his apartment. He must have been dead for at least two weeks", violently yanks me out of this generally hostile funk because some souls are indeed entirely on their own even amongst thousands or even millions of humans. Quite depressing if you ask me! - Back then, long before I was born, most people thought of politeness and good manners to be the most normal basics in life. Despite war times, the Great Depression years and other unfortunate circumstances, our grand parents' generation used to approach strangers, colleagues, friends, and family alike in a courteous and friendly way. Nowadays, though, manners have seemingly become dated, and polite, gentle and understanding ways are clearly on the brink of extinction. - When I grew up, I would instinctively try not to run into folks in crowded places. Now you are sometimes recklessly bumped into, and in many places you are better off lowering your gaze or if at all look apologetically at those bums if you don't want to get into a hefty verbal or even physical altercation. Gee, this is no longer my world! We, the minority that still lives by good manners and politeness, should muster up all our courage and push the mainstream to reverse back to a time when we still treated each other with mutual respect and admiration.