I rushed to front of store to inform security and first thing he asked me was, “What was she wearing?” Wearing? What was she wearing? We had dressed quickly that morning, looking forward to a Saturday spent shopping for clothes she would soon wear to kindergarten. Next Tuesday would be her very first day of school. In my panic I couldn’t remember what I had pulled from her closet that day. Was it her blue shorts set…no, she had worn that yesterday. I simply couldn’t remember.

As I fought back tears of an anguished parent, I saw my precious little girl walking toward me, holding hand of an alert clerk who had found her wandering toward back of store. When I asked her why she had left me, she innocently explained that she had seen someone who looked like her grandmother and she had simply followed her.

As I hugged her through my tears, I noticed that she was wearing her purple checked shirt and green shorts, and that I had braided her hair that morning before we left home. In my fear over not being able to find her, I had forgotten all those little details about her appearance. And, even worse, I had left my large purse at home with my other wallet that held my most current picture of her.

Later, as my husband and I were discussing what had happened, he mentioned one of his customers had told him last time he had taken his four children to theme park, he had lined them all up at entrance and taken each one’s picture with his wife’s cell phone camera. That way if one of them became lost, he could instantly show security his child’s picture, complete with very clothes they were wearing at time they disappeared.

The day of my ordeal, my camera-equipped cell phone had been in my bag around my waist entire time. It had never once occurred to me to snap my child’s picture in parking lot as we walked toward large store. Honestly, I hadn’t used camera feature that much, and had purchased phone more for some other features than fact that it could take a picture.

Camera cell phones were first introduced in US about two years ago. Since then, their popularity has skyrocketed. Industry officials estimate that 12% of all cell phones sold in 2003 were equipped with a camera and that figure is steadily increasing. The camera cell phone may well be most popular electronic device this holiday season.

On that date, Americans will have worked same number of hours that Europeans typically

work in a whole year. In other words, Americans work nearly nine more weeks per year than

their European counterparts.

A U.S. and Canadian initiative, Take Back Your Time Day, draws attention to twin

problems of overwork and "time poverty." Organizers say number of hours Americans spend

working has risen dramatically over last 30 years.

Consider these items from "Take Back Your Time" handbook:

* Between 1979 and 2000, married couples aged 25-54 saw their total number of hours of paid

work rise by 388, about 12 percent.

* Almost 40 percent of workers put in more than 50 hours per week.

* 26 percent of American workers don't take any vacation time.

* Since 1980's, work hours have risen by about half a percent annually.

Experts say "time poverty" is hurting our marriages, our physical and mental health, our

civic life, our kids and environment.

Maybe you feel pressure: Having too little time to exercise or prepare healthy meals.

Being electronically leashed to your job when you crave a chance to relax. You or someone

in your family putting in ever longer hours at work for fear of being "downsized."

Then there are more subtle signs. Ever notice way getting time with friends

requires searching your calendars to find a small patch of mutually available time weeks

away? Or maybe your dog looks under-exercised and lonely.

It wasn't always so.

Around 1900, American working hours had long been declining, and economics books and