How did our instant need to
know come about?
On October 24th, 1861, the first
transcontinental telegraph line across the United States was completed. It was
one line that connected an existing network in eastern United States to a small
network in California via Omaha, Nebraska and Carson City, Nevada, via Salt
Lake City. It offered, for the first time, a near instantaneous connection from
coast to coast.
The transcontinental telegraph
also brought about the demise of the Pony Express with its 400 horses, 120 to 180
riders, and 184 stations manned by several hundred personnel. Riders, who could
not weigh over 125 pounds and who traveled an average of 75 miles daily, relied
on swing stations along their route to exchange their tired mounts for a fresh one.
Riding day and night, the Pony Express could deliver mail in ten days across
our nation.
Although I love to Skype each
week with my little grandson in Alaska, I sometimes think life was simpler,
healthier, and less stressful when letters and corded phones were one of the
few ways to communicate. I hate the feeling of having to rush through life—to have
to instantly respond to a cellphone call, voice or text message.
Do you have a pet peeve about
our instantaneous communications of today? Or am I the only one who’d love to see a hardy,
handsome rider on a sleek black horse ring my doorbell with a letter in hand?
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