I composed a fantasy fiction novel. I enjoy reading the genre. I make a living by imagining new possibilities and trying to get folks to follow. You'd think I would have anticipated this. But I didn't.
I got on the bus from Binghamton to New York City at 8:40am. I sat down in a clean, spiffy seat and put my feet up on the foot rail. My eyes cast a casual glance around the front of the bus. There, written in white paint-marker in two places, stood the word WIFI.
Uhr? (Like Scooby-Doo used to say.)
The first explanation to strike me was that some Gen-X urban geeks had formed a cyber-gang, and this was their tag. The second was that someone (maybe a sarcastic bus driver) had put up the words as a practical joke. The third was, Why not?
We have satellites and wireless routers that fit on an office desk: why not on a bus? So I fired up my like-new laptop (thanks to Sara for ordering me a new battery) and opened Chrome. Next thing you know, I'm writing a blog entry about finding wireless internet service on a Short Line bus to NYC. Saccharine.
The most astonishing thing, to me, is my astonishment at discovering it. I'm having a moment that echoes with both "Well, duh!" and "Wow, cool!" at the same time. And I'm connecting other dots: on a plane flight that will cost me a couple hundred dollars and several hours of time waiting in security checkpoints and gate areas I can't use my cell phone; on a bus ride that costs $35 I can use both cell phone and internet. Hmmm . . . .
~ emrys
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