The Town of High Dudgeon
In the town of High Dudgeon
at the corner of Grump Street and Curmudgeon
people talk about the old ways
about young people these days
with their smart phones, their social media
their Facebook, their Wikipedia
hell, in our day we had to know stuff.
Harrumph! They shout in unison.
Harrumph! They shout harrumphantly.
Outside the town limits
the future raises a middle finger
and data accumulates
about this moment
and the moment before
in cabinets that hum
a one note tune.
Participating in Open Link night over at dVerse, one of the best poetry blogs around!
Stopdraggingthepanda 
Sadly, there’s a lot of truth and humour, in your poem, Jim. Keeping thinking of my mom, and her fear of using the debit card to pay for the goods that she wants to purchase. As society leaves these people behind, in the wake of digital dust.
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Thanks for dropping by, Therisa, “in the wake of digital dust”…wish, I had thought of that!
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Change comes harder the older we get. I, too, feel the weight of digital dust, apathy, and being left behind clinging to memories of cycling and skating without helmets, landlines and phone booths, old school math and cursive writing.
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I think the trick is, maybe, to keep moving forward, although, now that you mention them, I do miss phone booths!
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The tech changes are coming very fast and its hard to keep up with the all developments. I like to focus on the good side though, like ordering online. I miss the personal touch and conversations with strangers though as everyone is stuck in their phones.
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I think you are right, we would not be having this conversation, if not for technology!
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How I love the term “harrumphantly”! I shall borrow that! Sadly, we have no secrets any more. Siri knows all the answers, Alexa and Echo lead us through our days, and Facebook and Google entertain us; hoverboards, skateboards and segues transport us from A to B (if we dare), and virtual reality replaces the real thing. There’s no such thing as science fiction — we’re living it!
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Borrow away, Beverly! we all feel harrumphant at times!
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I sometimes wonder what life will be like in the next 10-20 years especially as technology is advancing so rapidly!
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Yes indeed, technology is evolving faster than we are.
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Good poem. Lots of truth about technology advancing so rapidly. Soon we will be the old ones wishing for the good old days of the early internet. LOL.
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Oh, this piece has some sharp points, but well expressed… this curmudgeon gets it!
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Thanks Rob! I guess I heard one too may conversations starting with “young people these days”.
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I had to tell you, I LOVE the title of your blog… :-))
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Thanks Rob…it came to me in a dream, seriously!
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Love this word: harrumphantly!
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Thank you!
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Enjoyed this much. 👍
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Thank you, much appreciated
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Your truth in this digital generation is spot on…and its only going to get more scarier.
Love this poem. 🙂
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Thank you Charlie, much appreciated!
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You are welcome my friend. 🙂
Hope you stop by and read my newest. 🙂
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Thought-provoking and too real, Jim. This question of knowing stuff, let’s hope it doesn’t matter, because not many people do, or if they do, they don’t tell us. Maybe I belong in that town, and once I was silly enough to believe that the information revolution would save us. Of course, that was before the misinformation revolution.
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Thanks Steve. I think knowing stuff is a good thing for its own sake. A phone isn’t a personality!
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My pleasure, Jim, and I agree. Admittedly I’ve given my computers names, but they don’t have much in the way of personality, or humanity for that matter.
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