There was a time when my stomping ground was secure, the corners bound tight and I recognized the boundaries. In other words, I had some idea of what I was doing when I sat down to a keyboard.
Then one day my son showed up with bigtime news. He carried a couple of monster machines into my intersanctum. “The IBM has got to go, you will like this much better, it has fabulous features.” My teacher son also had a partnership in a computer store.
“Here are the floppies and you put this one here and this one there and watch your screen for the commands.”
Is there anyone around who remembers the olden days of DOS, before the World Wide Web, even before color?
The main difference, as far as I could tell, was that I didn’t have to use the “white stuff” to make corrections. The clock stood at 1986 and I had become the modern woman, the one keeping up with scientific technology and all that jazz.
The sword of progress began coming at me fast. In 1993, only seven short years later, I wrote a letter to my sister: “Go get a modem installed. The wonders of Bitnet and Telnet and (treasure of treasures) INTERNET await! Access to the galaxy! MIND-BOGGLING.”
What is Mind Boggling is that was only twenty years ago.
I had parted with tears from my faithful IBM. I cried harder when the time came to part with DOS and Q&A. My life worked fine without Windows and a stupid mouse, thank you. I did manage to skip Windows 3 but finally had to succumb to modernization. That new Dell computer, with Windows 95 and the dreaded mouse awaited on the living room floor. I approached, sat crosslegged and stared at it. Instructions were clear, take off the cover, remove thisnthat, put in thisnthat and ready to go. With mouse. Go away world, leave me alone, I’ll figure this out with my Dummy book.
Eventually I adjusted and Windows X-P didn’t hurt quite as much. But that’s enough! I’ve reached the Pinnacle. No more. I will let all new gadgets pass me by.
Have you given up your desk computer yet? Do you still have a land line telephone or is it all cell? In ten years it appears that we have phased out what it took me twenty years to learn. My next generations have bitty machines surgically attached to their pockets.
Grandma, get on Facebook. You will find what you are looking for on Deaddog. Catch the latest Madonna on u-tube.
Grandma, we are texting now. Here, I’ll show you, just hit the “a” three times for “c”.
When it became obvious that my shaky fingers didn’t hit anything three times, it was either one (maybe) or five, the kids gave up. My only win was their promise to not text and drive.
No facebook, no i-phone, no u-tube, no texting, no Apple. I don’t want to touch my screen, it will get it dirty. But don’t take my mouse away from me and I couldn’t live without google. When a word in my lexicon disappears I can go to this day & nite library for a clue. Google is as good as the “white stuff.”
The great grandkids are waiting with bated breath (sure they are) for grandma to tackle a blog. OK kids, the keyboard likes me, we go together. I typed a book didn’t I? It's published, isn't it? It's going to be a best seller, isn't it?
http://goo.gl/DvCsp
Blogging it will by my style. I can tell you about what is,what was and what will be.
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