Last week, I drove four hours to the beach, seven hours home to Memphis for the weekend and then six hours back to Auburn.
Before I embarked on all my travels, I made a resolution -- no texting while driving.
It was a daunting challenge. I can barely make it down the road to the grocery store without typing away. But I had to do it. Things had gotten out of hand.
In the past, I have been hypocritical about texting while driving. If a driver is going too fast, too slow, cuts me off, doesn't use a blinker or commits a similar offense, I mumble to my passenger that he is probably texting or on the phone.
But I admit, on more than one occasion, I've found myself drifting into another lane or slamming on my brakes for a stop sign I didn't see coming because my eyes were glued to my tiny Blackberry screen.
I try to keep my eyes on the road and be careful, but it never works. When I am texting behind the wheel, my BAC might as well be sky high.
I realized if I kept up the texting, it was going to end badly one day soon.
So I decided to put a stop to it.
Compulsive texters may think, "Seven straight hours without texting? Impossible."
I thought so too at first. Then I devised a strategy. Blackberry addicts, you know there's no refusing that little red blinking light. When it's flashing, you can't ignore it. So I allowed myself to read texts, just not respond.
Calls were also allowed, but kept to a minimum. Talking on the phone, at least for me, is far safer than texting because my eyes are unoccupied. When I made stops, I caught up on any texting I needed to do.
Well, now that I'm back in Auburn, I can say my little strategy worked pretty well.
I did cave a couple of times to do things like confirm dinner plans, but for the most part my fingers stayed on the wheel.
The success of my resolution got me thinking about other times I text when I shouldn't: in class, walking, spending time with friends, in a movie, even on the phone (Yes, I ashamedly confess I have put someone on hold to return a text).
No more.
Last week, I also made an effort to spend my time on the beach soaking up the sun and savoring my last spring break with my friends, not trying to get rid of the glare on my phone so I can text.
It's hard to believe that 10 years ago, most people didn't have cell phones and the word "text" conjured different thoughts.
If they could do without texting, so can I.
I love gadgets and technology, but I don't love how they can turn us into absent-minded zombies.
So join me in my challenge -- resist the text.
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