Trying to Keep Up...

I am not really a “Facebook” person but I belong to Facebook.  I originally joined as my daughter (www.worldofjulie.com) had posted pictures of the grandkids.  I must say I look upon it more as an anthropological study.  It surprises me that I have even started a blog.  And yet if you took my computer away from me, I would go through total withdrawal.

The one thing that fascinates me about the technological world is that one can carry on their social life while at work.  Recently I was walking in a park in Maine and a public worker was mowing the lawn, a young man.  He stopped every two minutes to text.  Not yet being a Maine taxpayer, I just observed, but had I been one, I might have said something to him.  Or the other side of this is someone who hadn’t gone to work because they were sick (a migraine no less) and yet I saw several Facebook postings from them on that day.  I guess if it doesn’t affect me directly, I shouldn’t care.  It is just when I think of these incidents compounded, it gives me pause.

Years ago, I worked with a man who had been out on disability for several weeks, possibly longer than necessary.  One day he gets a call from the boss who says he would like to come and visit him.  “Sure” he replies.  “When would you like to come?”  “We are right around the corner from your house now” was the reply.  This was when cell phones were just out and few people even had them.  My colleague quickly got down off the ladder as he was painting a room and retreated and reclined on the couch.

As one gets older, it takes time to get used to new things.  My biggest fear is that if I don’t keep up with things as they come along, I will be in big trouble down the road.  Plus I don’t want my grandkids to call me a troglodyte.