“Why can’t things go back to the way they use to be?” That rhetorical question was asked by my friend, Jay, a fellow boomer who frequently expresses dislike for most things technical including computers and cell phones. His disdain for such gadgets is not only the result of occasional encounters with computerized devices that refuse to yield to his touch; it is ongoing warfare with any gadget that requires more steps to operate than turning it on and off. And although he occasionally uses the Internet, he feels that he could easily live without it, without email, without cell phones and texting. I could go on, but that might imply that he is a dinosaur, which would be an insult to every prehistoric creature ever recreated in a computer simulation.
Humans are creatures of habit. We get used to doing the same old things, the same old way. Change will never be embraced by everyone, nor will resistance to change prevent it. Like it or not — change happens; so the sensible thing to do would be to accept and enjoy it.
I recently went to the post office to mail a small package. Sometimes when I go there, I purchase a roll of stamps that usually lasts for several months, because I use them infrequently to snail mail a birthday card or send something to one of the few organizations that still doesn’t offer online services. On this particular day, when the clerk asked me if I needed stamps, I said that I didn’t need any and she replied with a wide grin, “You know y’all have to mail those bills, don’t you?” I returned her smile and responded innocently, “No, I pay my bills on line.”
Freeze! Apparently, I said the wrong thing on the wrong day, because