Free Time - Why do we always lose it? (2/2)

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Where does the free time go? This question persists in spite of growing list of timesaving devices that come into our lives. We don't have leisure time: time to relax, to talk peacefully with family or friends. In fact, all kinds of "organizers" (an efficient system of recording appointments) are sold in large numbers. We are busy, busy, busy.

The answer to the free time question seem to be that people find new activities for their leisure time. They do things they always wanted to do but didn't have the time. That's how they get busy all over again. Colleges have more and more older adults as students. Going to class and doing homework keep them quite busy. People of all ages also do a lot of traveling. They travel across the United States and also visit foreign countries. In this way they get an education in the real world.

Some people learn how to play golf and other sports. These games give people a new interest in life and make it easy to meet new people. Other people like to use leisure time to do things with their hands - like gardening and painting pictures. These activities are very relaxing. Many Americans are very busy keeping their bodies in good condition. Every morning joggers run through the streets; in the evenings they go to gyms to do exercises; and sometimes they go to lectures to learn about eating properly.

It's easy to see that people always do something new and enjoyable with their free time. It's always hard to find more free time for that relaxing bath or unhurried walk without a destination.

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Free Time - Why do we always lose it? (1/2)

Americans use all kinds of wonderful things that make life easy and save lots of time - things like cars, computers, phones, and dishwashers. In spite of this, people lack free time in their lives; they keep wishing for it. We rarely have time for a long, relaxing bath or an unhurried walk without a destination. People seem to be always busy. The question is, with all the timesaving devices we use today, where does the free time go?

Today we shop in supermarkets. We can store a week's supply of meat and vegetables in spacious refrigerators. Dependable freezers enable us to store food for months. This save a great deal of time.

Food itself has become "fast". Famous fast-food shops seem to be everywhere. Even coffee comes in an instant form. For those who want other types of meals at home, there is a large variety of foods to choose from: fresh food, prepared food, canned food, and frozen food. Microwave ovens defrost frozen food in minutes. It is no longer necessary to spend hours in the kitchen preparing meals; food companies do most of the work for us. This saves much time and works.

We even have a choice of how to serve food at home. We can use paper plates or dishes that can be cleaned in an automatic dishwasher. Either way we save a lot of time.

There are always new inventions that do things faster and easier. We can clean our teeth quickly with an electric toothbrush. We never have to touch a garage door to open or close it; an "electric eye" takes care of that. Television sets can be worked by remote control.

The timesaving tricks that modern telephones can do are really amazing. Dialing numbers has become old-fashioned; gently tapping them is much faster. Phones with a memory are now available. By tapping a preset code number, we can make a call. Phones in cars are becoming very popular, too. Being able to drive and talk saves a lot of time.
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(to be continued)