"That's it, I'm done with these damned phones! We're going to have an unplugged day!" I make this proclamation every few weeks without fail, usually because our 10-year-old has an attitude after we've made him stop playing Minecraft after 3 hours or because my wife has been talking to me for the last 30 minutes and I cannot possibly tell you a word she said. Technology is wonderful & amazing, although for all it's benefits I do wonder how much lazier it's made us...but also more productive? (I always have a rebuttal for my own argument against these things) How do I explain to the kid that he doesn't have to have that phone in his hand every second of every day when I do? But, I say to myself, I'm working...I'm checking my emails, researching story ideas, looking up the recipe for those cookies he asked for, or maybe "pinning" cute cat pictures to send my wife, but I digress.
The idea for "Beyond the Lightning Bugs" came from our trip to Apalachicola, FL , the trip that we were 100% truly "unplugged" for. Once we passed through Sopchoppy, FL (home of the annual Worm Gruntin Festival...I cannot make this up!) we had zero phone service, & I mean NOTHING. We couldn't even use Spotify for music. Once we arrived at the hotel, got checked in, and made our way up four flights of stairs because, no joke, the elevator wasn't working, we found out the hotel's WiFi and phones were not working either. Later that evening, when the front office closed & darkness came, so did the story ideas.
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