You’ve no idea what a technophobe I am,
said my friend Pat, even as she in the next breath
announced herself the new owner of an iPad2.
So it’s official: everyone’s buying
the next next thing, and I am not.Mired in a sleepy other time, I limp along
with my not-very-smart phone,
aging MacBook and vintage Kindle.
I will never be the one in a restaurant
to look up the name of that actor in that movie
we can’t remember the title of.
My phone will not take your picture
or check the latest read-this-instant email.
I cannot make a date with you unless I’m home
with my elderly fraying Filofax.
You have, the lot of you, left me behind
as you zoom into still another realm of thrilling,
life-changing, must-have stuff.
How disturbing is this to what passes
for my peace of mind?
How quickly can I finish this poem
and take a nap?
– Lucia Blinn, June 2011
aw….don’t fret….I’m there with you
Hooray for Lucia. I’m even farther behind in the world of tech- I read books in paper, and still read two newspapers every day. I carry my cell phone for emergency use but I don’t use it otherwise. I have a desk top IMac that is years behind the world and I have a land-line phone for all my calls. I don’t have a CD player or an Ipod.I don’t have a digital camera. I am content in my low tech life and wish it were possible to see anyone in a car who is not talking on a cell phone. I can look at the sky and enjoy the clouds and the sun, the full moon tonight, the sight of my grandchildren, and the company of my friends. Perhaps I live in a world of the past, but I don’t miss what I never had.
Well, well. This is not surprising. This is the same Phyllis that did not have a tv when it was the most needed in every other household. Hooray for you. I keep trying to keep up with my grandchildren. I’m losing that race, for sure. They are always several steps ahead of me.
Lucia dear, you have done it again. I loved every word that you wrote about technology and the aging (of course you were not referring to yourself) and wanted to remind you that you are the wonderful woman who talked me into getting my “kindle”. I love it and love you all the more for reoommending it to me, but alas, I must admit, I’ve taken the plunge, or rather my children did and for my 75th birthday, they bought me an I-Pad2! I am having a fun time with it and I can even see the stars and planets and know all their names because of an app called “Star Walk”. It is amazing; it knows where I am and shows me the sky as I see it on my I-Pad. I can’t wait to share it with you.
Just as I was enjoying the (relative) calm and peace that came from a (slight, relative) withdrawal from addiction to a computer solitaire game, our family gave my husband, Harvey (aka Yvone*). an I-Pad. OMG, as they say in Cyberland, so much to explore! So many Words with Friends games to play!
*See Coffe with Yvone on the right.
For me, having arthritis and carpal tunnel syndrome, I am thankful that I am left behind. My vision is not what it should be and I do not want a magnifying glass to see the tiny buttons/letters on my phone. Does anyone know of a large print cellphone with a touchpad? I may be willing to reconsider my choices of staying behind.