Studs Terkel – ‘Once I was at the Atlanta ai…

'Once I was at the Atlanta airport. I was taking the train between terminals. Its a smooth quiet train and it was jammed when I walked in. But it was absolutely quiet except for a mechanical voice calling out the stops. The doors were about to close a couple rushes in and the mechanical voice says Because of late entry the train will be delayed for 30 seconds. People were staring at the couple they were angry and I yelled out George Orwell your time has come and gone things are so efficient we?re losing our humanity and our sense of humor. Now there are three miscreants: The crowd is staring at me and at the young couple. Sitting nearby was a baby on a mothers lap. I asked the baby What do you think about this? She laughs and I say A human voice at last! There?s still hope!'