If past centuries were known variously as the Age of Reason, the Age of Discovery, the Age of Invention, and so forth, what then will our own era someday be called? Alas, when one of my kids asked me that question, about the only name I could come up with was The Age of Entertainment. After all, the search for effortless amusement seems to be the dominant force in society today.

And that, in turn, brings to mind tales that my elder son, Merle, has told about certain organizations of students he has encountered in recent college experience. Which of the following are real?

• Apathetics Anonymous
• Inertia Incorporated
• The Lethargic Club
• The Slacker's Guild
• The Society of People Dedicated to Wasting Time
• The Torporifics

According to Merle at least one of these exists (or did, I think it may have vanished – RadRob). Its meetings are rather uneventful, however, since nobody can find the energy to do much of anything. The outfit isn't officially registered either; no member has bothered to get a faculty sponsor or fill out the necessary paperwork, even though as a sanctioned organization it could get a cash subsidy from the school for its activities. At a typical get-together people mostly sit around, complain, and watch each other play video games. At times, Merle says, a can of soda sits untouched in front of a diehard slug for hours while s/he works up the motivation to reach out and open it.

Our future, friend ....

TopicHumor - TopicSociety - TopicRecreation - 2003-01-08

(correlates: Boston Public Library, ThreeNewLoopRuns, SoundBiters, ...)