Say Wha????

Jeremy and I are in the process of buying a new computer. This one is pretty much running on fumes. When he walked into the computer store yesterday he was imagining his opening line to the salesman. It was something like this, "Imagine that I have been in a coma for about fifteen years, now tell me what I need to know about a computer." We laughed pretty hard about this but it's not far from the truth. Words like quad core, 1TB HD, and 6 GHz DDR3 mean absolutely nothing to Jeremy or I. When people start talking techno garble it sounds like the the teacher from Charlie Brown to me...."Wa waawa wawaa wa, waaaawaawwaa waa waa wawa." I just don't get it. I can't and often refuse to keep up with the trends. If I could get you all to read this blog via handwritten letter that would be fine with me. I have never sent a text. I use my cellphone for emergencies only. I don't check facebook when I am with my friends. I just don't. I don't answer the phone when I am talking to someone face to face.

A few years ago, I read an article about people like me. We are called Luddites. There was a movement way back in the early 1800's in England that was led by a guy named General Nedd Ludd. He was rumored to live in the Sherwood Forest and kind of had that Robin Hood sort of reputation. He started a movement of people, mostly artisan weavers, that would go into factories and break stuff or burn it because weaving machines were replacing people and their livelihoods; all because it was cheaper to mass produce in a factory. The modern definition of  Luddite (taken from the Urban Dictionary) reads like this: a person who is adverse to adapting to technology. I guess that is me.

I admit there are somethings about technology that I find convenient and wonderful. I'm a fan of my ipod. Music is fabulous and this tiny square of technology is loaded with hundreds of songs and allows me to listen anywhere, anytime. I also like the machines that make my life easier like the dishwasher, washer and dryer. I can't imagine doing laundry on a rock in the river??!! But, in a lot of cases technology, and all the stuff that goes along with it, is really stealing our skills. I recently had some young people in my home and laughed to myself as they tried to wash dishes with icy cold water from the tap, no soap, no cloth, no sink full of hot bubbles. Strange. A lot of people never write with a pen and paper anymore either and when they do their grammar, spelling and punctuation are a far cry from the good ol' Queen's English. (lol?!!??) (NOT a real word - aghh!) I think it's so sad that something so personal as handwriting will soon be in the history books as archaic as the stone tablet. Weird!

I wonder if the world was ever unplugged if we could survive? It would be an interesting experiment, me thinks. Anyway, gotta run there is sink full of dishes that need to be washed....by me....with my hands.