ponderingsat80’s posterous

 At the beginning of creation my brother and I  would sit on the floor next to a large radio straining to hear the Lone Ranger, or The Green Hornet. My girlfriend and I would sometimes listen to Ma Perkins, a soap opera, in the afternoon. On Monday night, Lux Radio Theatre, presented radio adaptations of movies or plays, and I was allowed to listen if my homework was done. The war news was ever present on my parents’ minds so the radio was always tuned for the latest update.  My brother and I were too young to understand the importance of what was happening in Europe; much more fun for us were  the play by play descriptions of hockey, especially during the playoff season.  

 When I grew up and married, television came into being.   We bought our first black and white television in 1960, and I frequently watched the Late Night Show with Jack Parr, replaced later by Johnny Carson, while nursing a baby. For years we resisted buying a television seeing it as a bad influence on our children. Our kids, smarter than their parents, outwitted us, however, by slipping out to their friends’ house to watch the Saturday morning cartoons.  Those parents were ‘cool’ as the saying goes today.      

 In today’s affluent society, people have more than one colored television (black and white a thing of the past).  VCRs and DVDs now allow us to view the latest movies from our living rooms. Or record a program to be watched at a later date when it would be more convenient.  (Some of us have yet to learn how to program a VCR!) 

 Not long ago, I learned to use a computer, and at that time, wondered why I needed to do so?  I  quickly discovered how exciting it was to keep in touch  via emails with family and friends all over the world!  Surfing the net became, not only informative, but fun.  And I soon began to use my computer to do my banking.  Things changed rapidly:  I went from using  an old-fashioned typewriter, to  an electric one, and from that, to a Word Processor. 

 Computers are truly a blessing for seniors; we can keep informed, research a subject, or write a story!  Look at me - I’m blogging -- who would have thought! . . .  Best for me though is the ability to communicate, sometimes on a daily basis, with my children who live far away.

 We now have cell phones that offer security for when we are driving – especially good for me as I go between city and country; bank machines - no need to wait in line to see a teller anymore - although, I miss the personal contact.  New tchnology is very exciting and I am full of wonder.

Cell phones would have saved our sanity had they been around when my daughter was a teenager.  She would talk on the phone with her friends for hours!  No sooner would she walk through the door that the phone would ring and it would always be for her! To solve the problem, we  gave her a phone for Christmas.  Did that help?  No. When her friends called her line and received a busy signal, they continued to call ours!  One day, when the phone rang, my son in exasperation, picked it up and without asking who it was, yelled, "she's dead!"  Nearly causing my friend on the other end of the line to faint!  

My grandkids indulge me with a smile when I tell them my cell is for emergency use only -  they know God created cell phones for them - not to call, but to text message their friends all day long.  That might have been the solution to our problem when our daughter was growing up.  

 Am I forgetting something?  Perhaps. Technology is forever changing, and keeping up with it is a challenge for older folk, but  life is about change and moving forward, and if we don’t at least make the effort to understand, we will grow old fast and soon find ourselves completely left behind!