Reluctant To Change
I feel that as I get older, I’m just going to become increasingly grouchy and more likely to bitch and whine about how life was less stressful in the 90’s and earlier. Even now, I’m told that I do things that, by most young folks’ standards, would be considered to be antiquated. Indeed, I’m one of those people who tends not to change things if they still work and otherwise have purpose. I’m not worried about judgment from those who are young and perhaps may not know any better. I’m just afraid that as technology improves and supposedly makes life easier, there will be skills that will be lost because they will no longer be utilized or practiced. Let’s just see how old I am and delve into some of the stuff I still do, even at the risk of being called “old”, “grandpa”, or “reluctant to change”.
–I still write checks. Sure, I could pay bills and people with those fancy cash apps, but what’s the fun in that? I have to wait to get my paycheck every other week. It’s not like once the pay period ends, I’m getting a check the next day. If I have to wait for my money, then so do you. You don’t get any instantaneous privileges when it comes to my giving money to you. Years ago, I used to intentionally pay my cable bill by check because their customer service was just terrible. Sometimes I would wait until the day before it was due to sent them that check, just so that they could see the postmark on it. I also like still taking a pen to physical check and writing the whole thing all out.
–I still send letters. That’s mostly for work purposes, mind you, but I’m convinced that there is a good segment of the population that does not know how to address a letter. They used to teach that very thing in elementary school. I don’t think this is still taught in school today and that’s a damn shame because now they say that the United States Postal Service is struggling. Throw those folks at the post office a bone and buy a stamp or two.
–I still own and use an iPod. Actually, that’s not entirely accurate. I own and use two iPods. I have one at home and I keep the other at work. I used to own hundreds of compact discs and believe me, those were hell to own, store, and display. I still have a few cassette tapes lying around, but I don’t mean to brag. I know that they have Pandora, Amazon Music, Spotify, and even Tidal (which I refuse to use), but I feel like the iPod is a portable, pocket-sized version of my old CD and tape collection. I feel somehow connected to it, like almost on a personal level. It’s mine and only mine. I put the songs on it. It is an “I”-pod, not a YOU-pod. It’s all so personal and in thinking about it more, the iPod doesn’t require an internet signal to function. Do those music apps require an internet signal? Hell, maybe they do? I don’t know.
–I still turn my head back when pulling a car out in reverse. I don’t trust those reverse cameras and may never. I need to see the rear windshield and look for myself. I also still use a turn signal, which from what I’ve seen lately and in years gone by, is seemingly a lost art form.
–I still refuse to use any form of social media. Like I was hiding from law enforcement and an arrest warrant, I stay away from social media because I don’t want to be found, tracked, or traced. I don’t feel the need to post pictures of my otherwise mundane life and mostly colorless environment for anyone and all to see. I also don’t care to see how many “likes” I’ve obtained at any given moment for anything I’ve done or said. The Visionary just doesn’t need any of it. I’ll keep all of my ranting and raving on Open Diary, being that now this platform costs real money.
I can’t readily say that any of the above will change, at least not anytime soon. Like Bruce Willis, old habits die hard. I know that technology will change and continue to improve as time progresses, but will those changes make life better or easier? That’s always going to be a matter of perspective. But as for me, for now, I’m good with my paper checks, nearly 13-year old iPods, and my sheet of stamps. Now as far as cursive handwriting, yeah, we abandoned that back in the fifth grade and haven’t gone back to it since.