NOOOOOOO… The Horror…

Daily writing prompt
Your life without a computer: what does it look like?

I was born in the late 60’s, spent my earliest years on a farm with only a single Black and White television that was encased in wood that came from Atilla the Hun’s battlefields… nothin like stubbing your toe on the corner of a 300 lb block! While I understand that my numbers are, in most probability, grossly over exaggerated, are they really… really?

Anyway, my point is that I’ve lived in both non-computer days and the current computer age, so yes, things looked different.

But is that different a good or bad thing… or is it just the times, or progress, if you will.

I remember taking typing classes in high school, and excelled at typing, matter of fact… I got skills! The thing was though, outside of a class at school, or my part-time job at an insurance agency, I never used a typewriter. In fact, I’d wager that most of the other student’s parents didn’t buy them one for personal use at home. Could you imagine having to bring your own typewriter with you, packed up in your backpack, or better yet, stuffed in your school locker? Nowadays, you can wear it on the right lens of your glasses. That’s only if you’ve the pocket change for one… their ridiculously expensive!

While I fully miss talking to others out loud, instead of texting, and writing letters on paper and sending them in the mail, one cannot deny the convenience and speed of using a computer. One single solitary box (in some instances, no bigger than a stick of gum), you can hold numerous differing translation of the bible, a building worth of encyclopedias, dictionaries, thesaurus’, and past news publications from eons past. You can access a plethora of books on fiction, history, science, religion, and more… from your cell phone/smartphone/pda/tablet/kindle/ and of course, those glasses I mentioned.

It’s undeniable that computers have incredible uses in today’s modern society…

But, we all know that too much of a good thing can spoil it’s goodness, in the end.

Checks and balances, moderation, and wisdom, should rule at the end of the day, wouldn’t you agree? Just make sure you don’t forget the old school days and ways, because you never know when we may need to use it again.

Take a moment to think on this…

If all our power grids went offline, indefinitely, how long might it take before the war over toilet paper returns?

Don’t forget your cookie…

Traveling Stories…

Photo by JJ Jordan on Pexels.com

Daily writing prompt
Your life without a computer: what does it look like?

Are you kidding… it would be a dream for me, you see… traveling around in our house with wheels. Wherever we travel, there would be libraries filled with those seeking knowledge and adventure… no computers to glean research, read about other people and places in the world, or travel virtually to get away from it all, as they say.

Without computer technology there would be no smart phones, so it is safe for one to assume that mobile phones are also on the no fly list here. Can you imagine having a house of 3 to 5 kids with only a television and public school for child size learning. You are going to look forward to my visits to your community, aren’t you?

I can just imagine being able to hold a book in my hand… slowly turning the pages as I read. Young minds on fire with the adventurous tales I weave, head home to build their own pirate ships in backyards and neighborhood parks… usually with blankets, sticks, and anything in the garage that looks like it might work.

I must admit that I have had a love affair with books for my whole life… well, for as long as I can remember anyways. I spent as much time as possible in either the school library or the public one. I even had a job once in a library, but it was mutually agreed upon that I was not suited for that work… I would get so comfortable and cozy every time I put books away, I simply fell asleep on the rolling chair that pushed me back and forth along the rows of books. This occurred numerous times. Don’t judge! It was just so doggone quiet!

As I am a writer and do pretty much all of my storytelling on my computer, I will admit that it would take some adjusting for me to switch back to writing with pen and ink, but F.Y.I. I would do in in a heartbeat gladly. Well, that is if you all showed up at your local book hub to join me when I came to town. We could go back to the days where a trip to the library was an event… mine usually kicked off with a trip to A&W for burgers fries and a root beer float. Then it was off to the library for a fill up on the maximum number of books allowed for check out. There was often a librarian reading out loud in the children’s section, for any little ones curious enough to gather around.

I continued this tradition with my children for all of their young years, trying to imprint the same emotions and memories for them… dragging them to the library each week. I say dragging them because, apart from them checking out the books they wanted, they were bored to tears. Where I had memories of wonderful adventures, there was now a cell phone. Unfortunately, as useful as computer technology is, there are many not so useful side effects of such advancement.

We are LAZY by nature folks… and I will admit that I am not immune, which is why I said WE! Currently we are in a time where an Artificial Human can live inside your smart phone or system and do pretty much anything you want it to, and you don’t even have to type… SIRI what time is it? Alexa what is on the news? See what I mean?

Humans scare easy too! All one has to do is imagine life without a computer and the panic sets in… you mean we might have to engage in face to face human interaction to get anything accomplished? Lord have mercy… what will things come to if we did that? Then again distance is what probably keeps more world peace… because sometimes people do things that make me want to flick their ear.

Back to the prompt question I was supposed to be answering, perhaps if we went to a place of no computers, we could undo many of our own bad habits… perhaps not! Humans will be humans in whatever form we allow the world to shape us into, both good or bad. The goal should be to become better, smarter and healthier regardless of how far we can advance technology.

Here have a CHIP… hahahahahahahahaha… get it… computer chip…

Photo by JJ Jordan on Pexels.com