We live in a microwave world. A hurry-up, get-to-the-point, move-it, move-it, move-it, world! We want what we want and we want it now! We want freezer-to-table meals in 15 minutes at the outside; we want 0 to 60 acceleration in 8.5 seconds; we want the phone answered in 3 rings or we're hanging up; we want that personal pan pizza in 5 minutes or we're outta here.

No one reads classical literature any more. Why bother when you've got Barnes and Noble, Monarch Notes and Klassic Komix? Or, if you really must, there's always the Evelyn Wood Speed Reading Course. (I'm reminded of Woody Allen's comment about that course. The comedian said, "I took the Evelyn Wood Speed Reading Course. I read War and Peace in an hour and a half. It's about Russia.")

The accelerated pace of life has spawned new …