ON THE TOWN:Unplug -- the benefits are undeniable

It started out as a line that I threw into a column without really thinking much about it. Now that I have had a chance to think about it and compare notes with friends, I believe it is an idea whose time has come.

To recap, I was lamenting the loss of my driving trip to Las Vegas, opting instead to fly due to some serious construction delays I would have encountered on the way back had I driven.

Those drives are “unplugged,” that is, no radio, no iPod, no laptop, no BlackBerry. The four hours alone almost always help me clear my head. I get answers and ask more questions. I’m just thinking, wondering, that’s all, with no agenda.

But now I believe that the time has come to elevate the concept. You see, if I can survive, even benefit, from a few hours without any electronic tethers, I’ll bet you can too.

And I’ll bet that your friends and neighbors can survive and benefit. People you don’t know can benefit. In other words, nearly everyone can benefit from a few unplugged hours.

What I am proposing is just one day in America when we unplug.

The idea is not to turn the clock back but to just chill for a few hours. As one who embraces several communications devices, I see the need, and I see the benefits.

But I also see the dangers.

In my line of work, I have to be creative — it’s not an option. I am expected each day to write words of interest for a variety of people. Sometimes it’s necessary to marry those words with pictures.

What I have found over the years is that my best creative moments come not when I am listening to or watching anything, not when I am trying hard to force creativity and not even with a group of people brainstorming.

The best creative moments come when I am alone. Perhaps it’s driving or shaving or showering, but it almost always happens when I am alone.

Running or working out also sparks the mind. I can’t tell you how many times a colleague has called me with an idea just moments after finishing a workout or even in the middle of one.

Being unplugged in 2006 is no easy task, I know. And there are some people for which it’s just not a good idea or not possible.

Emergency personnel, for example, have to have their communication. And if you are the caretaker for someone elderly, it’s probably not a good idea to participate.

Both those and similar scenarios aside, most of us will not suffer from one day without our gizmos. In fact, it’s not even a full day — I’m asking only for the 12 hours between 7 a.m. and 7 p.m.

That would be one work day in which we are forced to get up from our desk to ask a colleague a question instead of e-mailing that person, who is often found on the other side of a wall next to us.

For that reason alone, some businesses may benefit.

It’s one day without the car radio and the screaming talk-show hosts, which would force us to talk (or scream?) at each other in our cars.

It’s one day when parents and kids and husbands and wives will have to talk to each other ahead of time about their plans for the day because that day will be life without a cellphone or pager.

Yes, I know there will be exceptions — plenty of them. And I know that a lot of people will stretch their situation to justify some electronic connection that day, but that’s to be expected.

For the rest of us, those who just need to take a break, this day is for us.

The day I am suggesting is Nov. 15 of each year. That will put some distance between the bombardment of election year harangues and the maxed-out communication we can expect from the coming holidays.

It’s either this day or we’re all going to have to pile into a very large vehicle for an unplugged road trip to Las Vegas.