Comments about "Unshaken Hands on the Digital Street,"
published in the 30 July 2004 issue of The Chronicle Review

"I'm always grateful to an author when I read something that stimulates me to think. ... I just finished reading Your 'Unshaken Hands on the Digital Street' article in the Chronicle. Nicely done. I tend to think visually and metaphorically, so I am sensitive writing styles that fill my head with images and those that leave an absence of material on which I can ruminate. Your article filled my head with images and ideas. So, I thank you for that."

"This is an excellent essay, and I can't wait to read your book. ... There's something uplifting about chatting with someone in Aisle 3, or nodding to someone in a church pew, and sometimes I forget that. Here in politically charged Washington, the digital street often merges into the ego superhighway: My PDA gets wireless internet access, does yours? I just sent a text message to Powell's personal assistant, how about you? If I see you on Constitution Avenue when Reagan's hearse passes by, maybe I'll text you."

"You hit the mark, Michael. A credible and touching portrait of life as we know it, Summer 2004."

"I just saw your piece in the Chronicle--great work.  By the way, I join you in a basic distrust of the portable machines we are all so dependent on these days."

"I just read your article about the use of electronic devices in public. To add to what you said, I have been dismayed about the increasing use of cell phones by runners in marathons. Cell phones were constantly going off around me as I ran in London, New York, and Chicago especially, with some folks having long conversations that had nothing to do with the marathon they were running. Somehow, to me, that ruins the experience. This is why I prefer to run the smaller. local marathons, such as the Marathon to Marathon, that have just a few hundred runners out to challenge themselves and enjoy the experience."

"I just read your article, 'Unshaken Hands on the Digital Street' and it really struck a chord with my feelings about cell phones. It's crazy anymore. You can't even say 'hi' to anyone anymore without checking first to see if they are available to reply. The way our campus parking is now I have to ride a commuter bus to the other side of campus. I just can't get over how many people are constantly engaged on the cell phone. During one particularly long bus ride I found out all about some lady's personal life and how her boyfriend doesn't appreciate her and on and on. Did I really want to know all of that? Hardly. I would have been happy just to say 'hi'. Thanks for putting into words many people's feelings."

"I just read your article 'Unshaken Hands on the Digital Street' in the Chronicle of Higher Education. You are so right - cell phones, and other devices that isolate us from life around us, breed incivility. My personal favourite example was the woman I overheard on her cell phone telling her ex that she was going to remarry. I heard this from the stall next to mine in a washroom at O'Hare Airport - punctuated, as you might expect, with all kinds of interesting background noise.  ... [N]early everyone in the corridors, elevators and cafeteria (at my workplace) walks around punching, dialling or speaking into their phones, pagers, BlackBerries and PDAs, or plugged into their iPods. I wouldn't mind if we were all simply disconnected from each other, although that bothers me; the real problem is that they don't look where they're going. I've been walked into a couple of times, sending my lunch flying on one occasion. I don't have a cell phone, largely because I don't need one. But there are ways to use the bloody things and remain connected to one's surroundings. I just wanted to write and thank you for your Chronicle piece."