C'MON, TAKE A CHANCE!
Do you remember when we were worried about our culture being taken over by slot machines?
It didn't happen, of course, as so often happens to such dire predictions. Or, can we be sure?
Slot machines of the historic past were assembled from seemingly random accumulations of wheels of weird proportions, levers, cogs, springs, printed numerals and small, peek-in, plastic-glass windows. They grew more versatile since the days of ancient Greece when the Temple to someone-or-other was set up to dispense a spurt of holy water when a monied worshiper slid a drachma or two toward one end of a delicately balanced plane sticking through the wall over a vat of the wet stuff. Later on, the Roman off-shored the technique to the known world of their time.
Instead of simply falling victim to what came to be called the “one-armed bandit” we changed our definition concerning what a slot machine might be.
When you place a simply telephone call to your favorite professional today, what is your resulting experience? You were dozen choices : “Dial 2 if you wish to pay a bill”, Dial 3, if you want to schedule brain surgery” “Dial 5 if our are trying to locate a lost pogo stick.”,or Dial 13,if you are sick.” If you are willing to to wait on line until “one of our well-trained, widely experienced technicians is available. Line #7 comes in automatically and, while you are waiting. waiting, you listen to old tapes of elevator music tape played backwards for innovative mental stimulus.
When you take time from your busy day to self-serve the family van with gas, how can you be sure you will not choose the one pump island out of the twenty-seven offered – the one which bears a small notice “Diesel fuel only”, ”Credit Card only” or “Out-of-Order”.
Your cell phone can be a portion of today's gadgets given to chance . Taking chances seems to be a part of our modern way of life. even if you do not buy lottery tickets, enter contests, and appear on TV game shows, with an intention of becoming wealthy.
Turn on your TV set. Take a chance of something good.
A.L.M. November 15, 2004 [c387wds]
