# For Those Over 60



## SeaBreeze (Apr 17, 2013)

(.........forwarded message)

When I bought my Blackberry, I thought about the 30-year business I ran with 1800 employees, all without a cell phone that plays music, takes videos, pictures and communicates with Facebook and Twitter.  I signed up under duress for Twitter and Facebook, so my seven kids, their spouses, my 13 grand kids and 2 great grand kids could communicate with me in the modern way.  I figured I could handle something as simple as Twitter with only 140 characters of space.

That was before one of my grandkids hooked me up for Tweeter, Tweetree, Twhirl, Twitterfon, Tweetie and Twittererific Tweetdeck, Twitpix and something that sends every message to my cell phone and every other program within the texting World.

My phone was beeping every three minutes with the details of everything except the bowel movements of the entire next generation.  I am not ready to live like this. I keep my cell phone in the garage in my golf bag.

The kids bought me a GPS for my last birthday because they say I get lost every now and then going over to the grocery store or library.  I keep that in a box under my tool bench with the Blue tooth [it's red] phone I am supposed to use when I drive.  I wore it once and was standing in line at Barnes and Noble talking to my wife and everyone in the nearest 50 yards was glaring at me.  I had to take my hearing aid out to use it, and I got a little loud.

I mean the GPS looked pretty smart on my dash board, but the lady inside that gadget was the most annoying, rudest person I had run into in a long time. Every 10 minutes, she would sarcastically say, "Re-calc-u-lating."  You would think that she could be nicer. It was like she could barely tolerate me.  She would let go with a deep sigh and then tell me to make a U-turn at the next light.  Then if I made a right turn instead.  Well, it was not a good relationship...
When I get really lost now, I call my wife and tell her the name of the cross streets and while she is starting to develop the same tone as Gypsy, the GPS lady, at least she loves me.

To be perfectly frank, I am still trying to learn how to use the cordless phones in our house.  We have had them for 4 years, but I still haven't figured out how I lose three phones all at once and have to run around digging under chair cushions, checking bathrooms, and the dirty laundry baskets when the phone rings.

The world is just getting too complex for me.  They even mess me up every time I go to the grocery store.  You would think they could settle on something themselves but this sudden "Paper or Plastic?" every time I check out just knocks me for a loop.  I bought some of those cloth reusable bags to avoid looking confused, but I never remember to take them with me.

Now I toss it back to them.  When they ask me, "Paper or plastic?"  I just say, "Doesn't matter to me. I am bi-sacksual." Then it's their turn to stare at me with a blank look.


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## FishWisher (Apr 17, 2013)

I was on Facebook briefly. I really didn't want to know every idle thought that went through my granddaughter's head (nor other heads). And I don't miss it a bit...

But those GPS magic boxes on the car, etc and the chartplotter on the boat - absolutely incredible what they do! Wow! I'm still amazed (after several years) every time I use one.

Bi-sacksual?! Too funny! (No choice at Walmart, so I'm _straight_ plastic.)


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## Anne (Apr 17, 2013)

Now, THAT is funny!!  Thanks for the chuckle, SeaBreeze.     I'm on facebook, but don't know for how long.  Seems my older relatives rarely post, or just don't stay very long, and so it's mostly younger people.    

Technology just amazes me... especially how much more advanced we've become since I was a child....unbelievable!!!!   Like anything else, there's good and bad to it, for sure.


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## rkunsaw (Apr 18, 2013)

I got on facebook at the urging of my daughter and friends. I got off right away but after being off for two years I'm back on again. I have run across some old friends on there, so I'm sticking with it for now.

When we first moved here our son and family were coming to visit. I told them to turn right when they got off the hi-way 2 miles from our house. The GPS told them to turn left. An hour later and 50 miles away they called again for directions.


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## That Guy (Apr 18, 2013)

I know change is the only constant and the modern world will continually be whizzing away only to leave us in its wake.  I mean, sure it's great being able to log on here and chat away the day with you folks . . . but it ain't gonna save the world.  I know for sure, had I been around when the infernal combustion machine was beginning to tear down the road I would have been one of the guys standing aside yelling, "Get a horse!"

As for the paper/plastic conundrum, the New Kalifornians have finally outlawed plastic bags which were supposed to replace the paper.  Now, we MUST bring our own bags or pay ten cents (soon to be 25) for a . . . you got it . . . a paper bag.  And, along with Sir SeaBreeze, I keep forgetting my damned cloth bags.

Oh, yeah . . .  The company supplies us with BlackBerries at work which I never use....


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