Perspective from the 19^th Hole is the title I chose for my personal blog, which is meant to give me an outlet for one of my favorite crafts – writing – plus to use an image from my favorite sport, golf.  Out of college, my first job was as a reporter for the Daily Astorian in Astoria, Oregon, and I went on from there to practice writing in all my professional positions, including as press secretary in Washington, D.C. for a Democrat Congressman from Oregon (Les AuCoin), as an Oregon state government manager in Salem and Portland, as press secretary for Oregon’s last Republican governor (Vic Atiyeh), and as a private sector lobbyist.  This blog also allows me to link another favorite pastime – politics and the art of developing public policy – to what I write.  I could have called this blog “Middle Ground,” for that is what I long for in both politics and golf.  The middle ground is often where the best public policy decisions lie.  And it is where you want to be on a golf course.

I ask the question in this blog headline for a variety of reasons, but the main one can be described in just one word:  Technology.

Google says this:

“Technology is deeply integrated into daily life.  Today, there are more active mobile connections than there are people on Earth.  Driven by smartphones and the Internet of Things, global connectivity has re-shaped everything from how we communicate and to how we access education, healthcare, and financial services.”

Just imagine where we would be without it.  Some bad.  Some good.

For me, I try to avoid falling too far into the technology abyss, so:

• I am a dedicated e-mail user.  I remember when this ability first emerged.  I was a lobbyist at the Capitol in Salem, Oregon, and it made my professional life much easier, not to mention quicker.

• I am still adjusting to today’s major communication method:  Texting.  Younger persons in my life use this a lot and I – well – I am trying.  In some cases, I make a phone call to a family member and he or she doesn’t answer.  Then, I text and he or she calls back immediately.  Who knows?

• As a now-retired journalist, I loved to read newspapers in my hands, getting fingers ink-dirty.  Now, I confess that I read several newspapers on-line – the Oregonian, the Wall Street Journal, the Washington Post, and the New York Times.  So, I am turning my back on my youth.

In all of this, I worry that technology will spark fewer in-person friendships, not a good thing.

To avoid this, I try to keep personal friendships alive, often, but not always, on the golf course.  Personal contact matters, even in a technology world.

And, speaking of technology, a recent episode for me indicated how far I have descended into yes, the abyss. 

As we changed cell service providers, I was told all my information on my old phone would be transported into my new one.  Well, not quite.

What didn’t transfer was the ability to receive e-mail messages on my new phone, which appeared to be the result of Microsoft’s conservative transport policy.  So, now I need professional help to accomplish the objective.

Or, I suppose I could ask my grandchildren for help!

Technology rules – whether we want it to or not.