We parents want what is best for our children and hope that they will share our values. Yet, each generation sees something in the next that disturbs them and, in my case, I worry that the've lost the desire for solitude.
In this era of cell phones, beepers, instant messaging and wireless internet, the emphasis is on staying connected. One seldom encounters a young adult or teen who is walking down the street without a cell phone pressed to their ear. Worse yet, the same behavior is seen on our trails and along our beaches; only a lost signal gives them the chance to enjoy their natural surroundings. Perhaps this will become the new definition of wilderness: an area inaccessible to cell phone signals.
