With access to the Internet contingent upon a computer — handheld or other — technology companies are capitalizing on ways for people to “plug in” more devices. And as small as these devices have become, we’re faced with one of my greatest pet peeves – cords.

I’m talking about the great web of wires and a nest of cables and cords that ensnare other office supplies. I can bet that when I pull a USB cord out of my backpack, a pen or pencil (and hopefully nothing more personal) will slingshot out of my bag with it. If I yank the cord hard, I can jettison the object across the room.

On a re-cent trip to the great metropolis of Wichita, Kan., I packed power cords for two cell phones, a laptop, a scanner and external drive. Three different USB cables and two sets of earphones also made the trip. Home is no better. Add more charges for cell phone and handheld gaming devices, not to power cords for gaming consoles and DVD players with connections for audio/visual and each other. It’s no wonder the Internet spawned the term World Wide WEB. Even the dust bunnies have been trapped.

I could use Blue Tooth, if I took the time to understand how to get all my devices to work with it.

Trivia alert: The term “blue tooth” didn’t come from someone sticking a safety pin in a socket and turning their mouth and face blue. It’s from Harald Blatand of Denmark who was king when the world was truly wireless — in 940 A.D. The guy liked blueberries and united Denmark and Norway. His name loosely translates to “blue tooth.” Blue Tooth technology is short-range voice and data communications technology allowing us to use wireless connections anywhere in the world, thus providing a united front for a group of companies from many countries to offer this technology.

What’s keeping me from going wireless? Perhaps it’s the mass of wires I can’t bring myself to toss out. Maybe, just maybe, I’ll have another device that fits the same little connection as one of my many previous devices.

I am, at heart, a pencil-and-paper kind of girl. I like the physicality of writing and the tangible work that is the result. I still e-mail and I’m using a computer to write this article. Though you may think wireless has nothing to do with paper, it does. It’s the point of inspiration that changes — the thought that maybe my words or thoughts that stream through a cord may dissipate into nothingness makes me wonder about permanence.

All those writers from long ago who didn’t have a lamp to plug into the wall used candle, or even firelight, and quill. I don’t want my legacy to be a web of cords; instead, I aspire to leave a web of thoughts and words that may inspire someone, some time, some where to pick up a pen or pencil and leave their own tangible mark on the world.

Debbie Talley, a Randolph Ro-Hawk, UTSA and Baylor alum, can be reached at: This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it