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I remember as a child how life was so much simpler. Oh, don’t get me wrong, I did have a few luxuries that kept me going: my music, books and television. Since we lived out in the country, I didn’t have much else. Also, as the youngest and only daughter, I pretty much had the world by a string when it came to entertainment. I had my own radio, which later turned into a stereo. I had a small black and white television (does anyone remember those?!!) which morphed into a small color one. Best of all, I had the bookmobile which came to the area all the time and I got my pick of books to read. I don’t remember a time where I didn’t have a book in my hand. Oh! I don’t want to forget my guitar too!
My mom always wondered how I did my homework or studied for tests because I always had music playing in the background. I couldn’t concentrate without it so it was on…all the time. Good thing too because those grades were really good too. I carried that trait into my adulthood and now, even while I am writing, I always have something playing in the background, either the stereo or the television. I need to have some kind of noise in the room to help me concentrate.
As I got older, I still had my three childhood loves, but then the computer came along and not only did I need it for work, but I had one for personal use as well. This was a natural progression for me since I worked at Radio Shack as a computer salesperson. How could I not have one? As the years went on, the electronic toys kept going up to the next level; mostly due to the fact I married someone who is into his gadgets and gets the best deals on them…ever! Desktop computers turned into laptops; stereos with record tape players changed to Compact Discs and CD players and ultimately MP3 players (generic versions though…no fancy name brands in this house!); and my books are no longer books to hold in my hand, they are read on a Kindle or generic Android Tablet. I can live with all these changes, because they have made life somewhat simpler for me.
However, the one thing that just tickles my funny bone is something that just happened recently…well…it happened yesterday. We lost our internet connection due to equipment failure and we can’t get it fixed until Friday. My first thoughts when my husband broke the news to me were, “Oh no! What are we going to do now? You have to work from home tomorrow and I have writing projects I have to get done. We need the internet!” 
Today I am actually laughing about this because I am thinking to myself, “When did we become so reliant on something so intangible as ‘The Internet’?” Seriously it is not even something you can hold in your hand. It’s a virtual world where people share everything from status updates, photos and mail with one another.” While this is a huge advancement in technology, it’s also turned us into a world filled with people walking around with our noses buried in our cellphones and doing this crazy swipe maneuver with our index fingers.
Logically I should be excited to “power down”, but reality is that my husband needs the internet to work and I have committed to several writing projects that exist only via the “online world”. Gratefully, we have received the assistance of a wonderful neighbor who was there for us during our hour of need and helped us out of our internet crises.But there is something really wonderful about this. It is the fact that my neighbor and I interacted, face-to-face, without the help of any fancy electronic toys. Reminds me of a simpler time, and it was really nice.
 
Wishing you moments to enjoy simpler times!

 

Like anything you see here? Then contact me, Susan Dusterhoft at [email protected]. I am always looking for more books/products to review. I can also provide assistance with blog writing!

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