I was listening to a friend the other day describe her ski trip taken with her husband and three young sons. During the eleven hour trip she was able to review all her department's policies and procedures on her laptop computer. I was astounded at the amount of work she managed to get done but had to ask, "Did you drug your kids or what?". She laughed and stated that each had their own portable DVD player with earphones and she didn't hear a word out of them the whole trip. Now, my immediate reaction was "WOW" that sure would have been great for traveling when my kids were young but later it occurred to me that the road trips of my youth are some of my fondest memories. I loved the silly road games and reading the road signs. Our dad having us learn to recite the presidents and the alphabet backwards. I can remember standing up behind my father as he drove during the night. Everyone asleep in the car but me. It was a special time between father and daughter. We would sing songs my favorite being "Old faithful....we've roamed the range together. Old faithful in every kind of weather." We'd talk about the stars and how bright they appeared out on the open road away from city lights. All of this would have been missed if we had our headphones on and attention gazed upon a movie screen. Do families ever talk anymore? Sometimes I wonder if communication is a dying art form not even practiced among family members. How sad.