My name is Aida Nique and I financially support the slowdown because the show

allows me to understand poems on a deeper level. I love the thoughtful lead in

major provides before each poem. Join me in making a gift to the slowdown today.

Head to slowdownshow.org slash donate.

I'm Major Jackson and this is the slowdown.

Some weekends you can find me in a popular big-box store that sells

electronics. It's one of my happy places truly. I am not there to purchase

anything. I come to bear witness to technology's great march. The result of

human imagination and engineering. With my hands behind my back and a

studious gaze I simply wander up and down the aisles with other devotees of

applied science. It says though I'm taking a stroll through the woods. I find

my revelations wherever I can, even here in this this national park of gadgets.

Encountering a new device is like spotting a bird I've never seen before. I am

transfixed by the crystal clear cymocast of TVs along the back wall, streaming

an ice skating competition which makes me consider my own fragility and

elegance. As I walk by the home security area brushes me like a tree branch.

The sleek array of shiny refrigerators with French doors exudes the epitome of

forested serenity all potentially controlled by a cell phone. When I stop and

close my eyes I listen to the rustle of a digital future that is already here. I

feel like a child again. Am I under the influence of mother nature or of

humankind? I take a mental snapshot of my digital ecology. As I glance around

at the laptops and the audio speakers and video gaming systems I experience a

...