This morning, a text appeared on my phone. CNN sent it. I’ve requested text updates from them like this before; however, this update caught me off-guard. It simply said, “Box cutter used to called Massachusetts teacher….”
First, it states this alarming fact as news, without emotion, which is to be expected. Second, it provides no context for the update. If I hadn’t been following the story, and the only thing I saw on the murder was this, how alarming and unreal this update would be. Third, it appeared without any consideration to my state of mind or what I was doing at that given moment. I could have been running to catch a call, pick up a friend from an airport, mourn a lost pet, or eat breakfast. It entered my world, and cut right through it, leaving this violent image in its wake.
I did sign up for these little intrusions. Oddly enough, they make me feel more connected to the world around me. I seem to crave facts and to be among the first to know. What I find shocking is how this little context was presented, like a head severed from its body, this detail was removed from its context.
A Life of Wonder 