A non-digital, quieter time
May 15, 2008 (Thursday)
I read a blog from a Houston mom who was explaining the difference between technology that existed during her teen years and the technologies of the present day. Judging by the descriptions she gave, I would say she is part of the generation into which my children were born. She outlines the tech differences between herself as a teen and her children: manual typewriter instead of keyboard or mouse, white-out instead of delete key, ultimately electric typewriter instead of computer. Dial phone mounted on kitchen wall, with a short cord. No cordless or cell phones. No email, no text messaging, no internet. Yep, she has quite a few things to tell her digital kids about the way it used to be.
Her generation is the one that rolled its eyes when I would try to start a nice recitation beginning with, “When I was a boy..” When I was in high school, I got two of the greatest things ever given to me as Christmas gifts: a Smith-Corona portable typewriter and a Bulova wrist watch. That typewriter took me through high school, college, seminary and most of my ministry. I suppose I still have it today, although it would take me a while to find it. I use a computer with a printer now.
I have a cell phone today, and some cordless phones, too, but in my childhood my family had either no phone at all or one of those upright phones that required two hands, one to hold the main part, and another to hold the ear piece to the ear. We lived in a duplex when I was a little kid, and shared that phone with the neighbor. The phone was on a shelf in the wall, with a little door to it from each residence. And, yes, we were on a party line; phone customers could hear each other’s conversations if they liked.
My Bulova watch served me faithfully for many, many years. The crystal was replaced several times and the face and hands were redone once. (Watch repairmen, a rarity today, were easy to find back then). It’s around here somewhere, now a genuine antique. My kids had to tell me it’s an antique – still looks great to me. And still runs, too. Of course, it requires daily winding. The gold alone, at its high prices today, is probably worth a lot more than the entire watch sixty years ago. Analog, of course – no digitals back then.
At a restaurant yesterday, I heard a man talking very loudly, and as I looked around to see who it was, I spied the guy at the salad bar, shoveling food into his plate with one hand, and holding his cell phone to his ear with the other. Right behind him was another fellow with his bluetooth apparatus stuck to his ear. How did we ever do without this stuff?