So - Becky has a blog - good stuff; she is the author and I can't talk back - not so good. This blogging stuff looks okay - might be fun. And if Becky can do it, then bets on that I can. I can text, I could probably drop my phone into the toilet if the opportunity presented. I have rice. Am I suggesting technological challenges - yes.
On the way to London Drugs to get a GPS, me to Becky: "you need a cell phone". Becky: "I have a cell phone". My response - "sure but does it work?" Becky's response - something like: "well yes, if ..." and "and when ..." and "maybe if ..."; decision made. Easy stuff right? Not so much - next conversation - now what do we do? "I don't know, you should know". "Well I don't, how should I know?" "Well I don't know either". Overwhelming task - we know we have a problem.
Into London Drugs - salesman approaches and he smiles - done. Becky starts off nice - smiles, friendly, explains she needs a GPS. And I let it out: "and we need cell phones because she is travelling across Canada by herself and something might happen and she might need help and I need to know every day that she is okay and I'll pay for them because she is going to school when she gets there and we have the U-haul and everything else but we don't have cell phones, well I don't have one and hers spends all its time in the rice box - can you help? If ever at London Drugs at Northgate - say hi to Mohammed - he was still smiling.
Mohammed took over and guided us through the intelligent choices we had to make - enough said. Picking a phone - just a bad thing - what an exercise in regret and yes but what abouts. Finally, Becky: "okay Mom this one looks good and you like it - so what is the problem?" Me: " it's got a pink background with poka dots- I don't like it - it's ugly - I don't want an ugly phone." Becky - well she had an answer. Mohammed did not let us leave until the phones were fully operational with minimal risk of damage by the users. And instruction books, who the hell decided they have to be the size of a small novel? Instruction books should come with two lines: "open the package; good luck". Okay so text messages flew in all the wrong directions but I got it right eventually - I got it. And it should be required that new cell phones must work absolutely right for the first long while. Mine didn't - really - it did not. Phoning customer service - fun, efficient, quick service - no; back to Mohammed - recognized me and still smiling - asked how Becky was doing - how is that for service? I have learned how to use the cell phone and I have defeated its features. If I want to type "bastard", I do not want or need it changed to "pasta turds".
And I was right wasn't I Becky - you did need a cell phone - was I right or what? As you walked down that dusty road away from the broken down van - you were able to talk on a cell phone - a real one - whose the favorite parent now? So maybe there have been a few problems with the three hour time difference but isn't it nice to stay in touch? And I didn't tell you to make sure you wear clean underwear.
Children - by virtue of we gave them life - they owe it to us to flourish and thrive with nothing to cause us even the slightest flicker of worry. Or we chase them down with technology. And that is what I have to say - for now.
ok first of all, the pink polka dot thing... what was it i said in reply to that mom? i believe it was something along the lines of 'that's just a background mom, you can change the background screen!', and i believe i said that once i finished laughing.
ReplyDeletewhich reminds me of the time i taught you how you can move a digital camera away from your face and take a picture upside down if you wanted
it's like the blind leading the blind, except instead of being fully blind i'm wearing shattered coke bottle glasses!