Where the chalk-faced children play

Tonight I was reading Charles Edward Russell's article The Tenements of Trinity Church and I encountered the wording "where the chalk-faced children play." I stopped reading, looked away from my monitor and thought about how much I miss seeing chalk-faced children play.

The first thing I do in the morning after my bathroom visit is turn on my lap top. Whether I need to check the weather forecast, play a song that has been stuck in my head or respond to an urgent e-mail, I reach for the Acer. Then, the rest of the day is almost entirely spent on Gmail. The scariest part of all, however, is that my current lifestyle serves as an example for the lives of most of my friends, fellow students and, surely, millions of young people worldwide. Where can I see chalk-faced children play?

I was happy with my childhood spent playing hide and seek in the neighborhood or domino on the beach. I have stored these memories in my mind and enjoy returning to them, idealizing them and putting them away as washed linens to be used in the future by someone dear. But what if the time comes when no one uses linens any more?

Recently I talked with a friend about the correlation between technological innovation and human happiness. I argued that my childhood wouldn't have been truly happy if I had spent it in front of a computer monitor instead of outside in the street. My friend, however, pointed out that modern social needs determine happiness in our childhood activities. So, if the society you live in holds certain values and skills as valuable, you want to capture them and you surely don't think you are missing out on other distractions. For instance, I certainly never thought I was missing out on travel opportunities because I had never left Bulgaria before the age of 18.

Even though I find my friend's argument logical, I cannot help but put away another set of clean linens in a back drawer of my memory. Tonight I am storing the image of chalk-faced children playing.