Ben Granberry Personal Narrative Essay Screens: The Great Gap Closers

Section: 09 9/13/13

I begin with the fond memory of waking up to the ice cold spray of water from sprinklers as I slept out on the soft grass. The air condition-less rooms were just too hot to sleep in, so my friends and I had the bright idea to sleep outside where we could catch the breeze. Unluckily for us, we were cooled off much more than we had originally anticipated. We grabbed our sleeping bags as we awoke, and ran for the pavement like cats with our tails on fire. This unfortunate experience was soon forgotten, however, when I remembered what was happening today. I quickly changed out of my drenched clothes, grabbed my ticket, subway pass, and backpack, and headed for the subways. Today was the final day of a weeklong trip to Spain I made to participate in World Youth Day. Up to this point, it had been a fantastic trip, from admiring the beautiful arching columns of the Alhambra, to walking on the white sand of La Costa Blanca. We had since then moved to an unoccupied school in Madrid where groups from all over the world were staying until the final event. By now, I thought I had seen everything Spain had to offer. I had no idea what was in store for me this day. I quickly stormed down the long flight of steps into the underground terminal where I found hundreds of other young people on their way to the final event. My friends and I squeezed into the subways as best we could. Despite being packed in like a cattle car, I spent the time meeting people from all over the world and from many different backgrounds and cultures. It was an incredible experience. From the subways, we began our long march to the airfield, Cuatro Vientos, where we would have Mass with the Pope, the final event of the week.

Finally we arrived at the airfield and headed to our section. Once we found a spot to put our stuff down, I was very disappointed by how far we were away from the stage and the Pope. The priests on the stage were no more than specks in the distance and there were thousands upon thousands of people between us. But then the screens came up. Massive screens were put up throughout the crowd to give us a better view of what was happening on the stage. I marveled at how such a large gathering would not have been possible without the technology we have today. This screen was my ticket to see the Pope and participate in the mass the following day. Now all we had to do was wait until morning. But then the rains came. Dark clouds rolled in very quickly and began to empty their cold cargo on us. Once again on this trip I had the awful experience of being drenched and freezing to the bone. We huddled under our sleeping bags and tarps desperately trying to stay as dry as possible. It was miserable. After what seemed an eternity, the rain began to abate. Heads popped up like meerkats out of their dens as everyone began to arise. We dried off as best we could and prepared to have Mass. Unfortunately, the screens were not on. As it grew closer and closer to the time Mass started, I began to worry we would be without the benefit of TV screens and speakers for this Mass. Men in uniforms were hard at work trying to get the screens working again and I prayed that they would in time. Finally, I saw a flicker on the screen and then a huge image of the stage with the Pope on it appeared. We all cheered as we heard and saw the Pope on the stage thousands of feet away from us. We proceeded to have Mass. Afterwards, on the long walk back to the subway, I reflected on what I had just experienced. It was a phenomenal spiritual experience, but I also realized the technological significance of what I had witnessed. Technology and screens had bridged a gap for me so that I could take part in a Mass with the Pope and over 3 million people. Though it was a relatively

small distance for me then, screens bridge much larger gaps for me every day and I had never really thought about it. From checking the news, to watching the Superbowl, screens could connect me to anywhere in the world with the touch of a button. Though it is an amazing experience to physically go meet people and learn about their culture and country, as I did on the subway and on the walk to the airfield, this is not always a practical method. However, through the use of screens I can bridge this gap by using programs like Skype to see and talk to people that may live thousands of miles away, or by simply staying in contact with them through social media sites like Facebook. Screens have many different functions and have many different purposes, but a large impact they have had in my life is to be gap closers so that I can be part of what is important to me and remain in contact with others.