I never thought of myself as being too technologically savvy. Far from it. I proudly wear the label "Neanderthal". Then I read about Larry Rogers and his wife Joan in the local newspaper. We'll just conveniently skip over the fact that they're 86 and 84 years old respectively.
To quote Larry, he doesn't have a "computer, cell phone, iPhone, uPhone, myPod, yourPod, hisPad, herPad, answering machine,VCR, cable TV," etc. He still uses a rotary dial telephone, a manual typewriter, and watches TV on a boxy 19-inch model. He did have to break down recently and buy a digital converter box so he could keep his antique Magnavox TV up and running. He's never used an ATM machine. When he buys something and the clerk expects him to swipe his credit card, he just hands it to them instead and says, "Here, you do it." He said "I tried a time or two, but after twisting that credit card around every which way, putting the stripe on this side and that, I just started saying 'you do it'".
He drives a 1992 Ford Crown Victoria. It has a cassette player and cruise control, neither of which he has ever used. He says he doesn't own a tape, and "the idea of sticking the gas pedal open just sounds nuts. Why, I wouldn't feel in control." And Joan doesn't even own an electric clothes dryer. "I get out there in the sun and hang clothes on the line. It's good exercise."
Understand, these aren't poor people, and they're certainly not dumb. Larry, a veterinarian, retired 30 years ago thanks to his smart investments, and since then they've traveled all over the world. (By airplane?) He still manages his portfolio with spiral bound ledgers and a hand held calculator. He did, however, recently buy a new calculator after his decades-old TI model finally died. (Whoa.....slow down there, Larry!)
So you see, next to Larry and Joan I feel like an absolute techie. I have an iPhone with lots of apps, several of which I can actually use. I have a Kindle and a computer and I know how to blog. I have a digital camera and, yes, even an electrical clothes drying machine.
No, I'm not making fun of the Rogers'. Deep down I actually envy them. Imagine being happy with what you have and where you live and what you drive. Do all these modern whiz-bang tools we have today really make our lives easier and less complicated? I think I know how Larry and Joan would answer that. I'd be willing to meet them half way. ;)
S
Showing posts with label happiness. Show all posts
Showing posts with label happiness. Show all posts
Tuesday, February 7, 2012
Sunday, January 1, 2012
HAPPY TWENTY-DOZEN!
Happy New Year, everyone! It's that time again....time to wring out the old, wring in the new, and just move on with our lives in general. I for one was happy to turn out the lights on 2011. It really wasn't a bad year, but just one I'd rather not replay.
I had a small but comfortable home to live in, more than enough food to eat, reliable transportation, and a job. It saddens me to think of all the people who didn't have one or more of those luxuries. The only thing that really matters, of course, is that I had my wife and my health. Both K and I and our extended families were blessed with good health all year, especially my daughter Erica who's expecting my first granddaughter in April. She and baby "Gladys" (kidding....I hope!) are doing great. K's dad fell and broke his hip in February, but his recovery was so speedy his doctors are still shaking their heads in amazement. That episode barely moved the needle on the "ill-health meter".
My real heartbreak in 2011 was losing my dog, my best friend Emma Belle, just two weeks ago. I miss her more than you'll ever know, but I do have some wonderful memories of all the good times we had during the 6+ years she was in my life. (When I got K I also got Emma, a pretty sweet twofer, don't you think?)
Looking at things in a macro sense, the world in 2011 was like watching a train wreck in slow motion. Earthquakes, volcanoes, tsunami's, not to mention all the man-made catastrophes around the globe, just made me shake my head. And I'll be darned if I can see a leader anywhere, now or even on the horizon, who can put things back together. I'm just gonna keep my head down and try to slink through 2012 unnoticed. As long as He's looking over me, and He is, I'll be fine.
On a positive note, every new year brings hope for a better tomorrow, so maybe this will be the year where everything good just falls into place. After recently feeling myself falling back into some old habits, I'm pledging to myself to try and live according to Teddy Roosevelt's old adage, "Do what you can, where you are, with what you have." Lot to be said for simple living.
So how was your 2011? Two thumbs up, two thumbs down, or just a "pass"?
S
I had a small but comfortable home to live in, more than enough food to eat, reliable transportation, and a job. It saddens me to think of all the people who didn't have one or more of those luxuries. The only thing that really matters, of course, is that I had my wife and my health. Both K and I and our extended families were blessed with good health all year, especially my daughter Erica who's expecting my first granddaughter in April. She and baby "Gladys" (kidding....I hope!) are doing great. K's dad fell and broke his hip in February, but his recovery was so speedy his doctors are still shaking their heads in amazement. That episode barely moved the needle on the "ill-health meter".
My real heartbreak in 2011 was losing my dog, my best friend Emma Belle, just two weeks ago. I miss her more than you'll ever know, but I do have some wonderful memories of all the good times we had during the 6+ years she was in my life. (When I got K I also got Emma, a pretty sweet twofer, don't you think?)
Looking at things in a macro sense, the world in 2011 was like watching a train wreck in slow motion. Earthquakes, volcanoes, tsunami's, not to mention all the man-made catastrophes around the globe, just made me shake my head. And I'll be darned if I can see a leader anywhere, now or even on the horizon, who can put things back together. I'm just gonna keep my head down and try to slink through 2012 unnoticed. As long as He's looking over me, and He is, I'll be fine.
On a positive note, every new year brings hope for a better tomorrow, so maybe this will be the year where everything good just falls into place. After recently feeling myself falling back into some old habits, I'm pledging to myself to try and live according to Teddy Roosevelt's old adage, "Do what you can, where you are, with what you have." Lot to be said for simple living.
So how was your 2011? Two thumbs up, two thumbs down, or just a "pass"?
S
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