Last year, someone showed me how the Google World program worked, and I marveled at the possibility of looking down on cities and streets anywhere in the world.

I was so amazed that in the following weeks, I spent some hours checking out neighborhoods where I used to live and do now, the school I went to in Italy in the ‘60s, the house of an old girlfriend in Wichita Falls, and places I had never been to.

It was mind-boggling to think some government satellite that Google was using had photographed virtually every square inch of the world and that we could sit in front of a computer screen at home and get a bird’s eye view on anything, anywhere.

And it was vaguely unsettling that anyone could gaze down on my house from anywhere, but the novelty outweighed any real sense of unease I felt.

Yes, there’s a point here. I’m getting to it, though the picture beside this piece has probably already given it away.

Friday, I remembered a church dinner my wife and I (my wife and I is a new and pleasing expression I have been able to use for a month now) were supposed to attend at someone’s house up the mountain on the Westside. I had been there before, but couldn’t remember it well enough to get there, so I called the church to ask for directions and was told I had already received an e-mail.

I found it, with the address, directions and a little thumbnail picture of the house. Curious, I clicked on the picture, and up comes a map of the neighborhood and, overlaying it, a larger photo of the house, a Google photo taken from a spot in the street from which I could, by nudging the mouse, look all around as if I were there and even make my way up the street.

Don’t tell me, I thought, that they’ve sent out photographers to take pictures of every street and every home and building in America and plugged them all into a computer program and made it available to anyone anywhere for free. Yes, it seems, the folks at Google have done just that.

It’s called Google maps street view and it's something new.

I spent a little time jumping around from block to block, looking at anonymous houses and heading, quite naturally, to my own street until I found it after going a little out of control, this way and that, turning around and around like some poor drunk weaving his way home.

Finally, there I was, standing in the street in front of my house.

A little turn of the mouse, and I was looking at my neighbor’s home across the street with his pick-up in the driveway. I couldn’t quite make out the license plate, but I could tell the make, model and color.

By this time, I had come to notice that the Google map photos didn’t show people outside or cars on the streets. It’s as if we all died inside or like someone had asked everyone to stay indoors for a minute or like it was very early on a Sunday morning before everyone – anyone in the world – had gotten up.

By the shadow from the 30 mph sign next to my driveway, I put the time of the photo at between 10 and 11 a.m. So much for that theory.

I was so taken by this new and intrusive toy that I printed out the picture of my house and showed it to people in the office. Most of them were pretty surprised. I was glad I wasn’t the last person in the world to know about this new thing.

Someone said a woman who happened to be looking out the window, probably at the Google photographer, when the picture of her house was snapped had sued Google when she found out that her face was there for anyone making a virtual visit to her street to see.

“It’s the 21st century, get used to it,” Sito said.

I like the 21st century ok, but something American in me doesn’t like this. New is fine. In my front yard isn’t.

I thought about Big Brother watching, and wondered who to blame. I mean whom, it’s whom to blame. Republicans? Democrats? Communists or Islamists?

No, it’s Google, and they’re probably going to make billions directing terrorists to each of our homes. They’ll make money, and that’s American, so it must be OK, right?

Looking at the picture of my house, with its nice desert landscaping, I realized I was a little grateful that at least they were good enough to take the photo at one of those rare times when my yard looked great and not last month when my small little desert was overtaken by weeds and grass.

I wouldn’t want some lunatic who’s pulling up a Google map so he can come over and kill me to think I don’t care about my front yard.

Now, he’ll have no trouble finding me, no trouble at all.

Isn’t that nice.

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David Crowder writes for Newspaper Tree. To reach him, write to dcrowder@epmediagroup.com or call (915) 351-0605 or just Google him and drop over some Saturday. See the picture of his house above to help.