Either my gadgets are getting smarter or I’m getting dumber…Probably both! Not so long ago if I had an interesting tidbit to relate, I could have told you exactly where I heard it. Or read it. Now . . . not so much. The sheer volume of information that I am exposed to has blossomed exponentially and my sources are everywhere.
A few years back my niece set up a family website. Most of us had a cell phone and we all had access to email, but suddenly this became our main source of family unity. Emotionally we are a close and sharing family but we are scattered all over the country so our new family website was like a virtual family gathering. We had picture pages, wish lists and a family calendar, but the most important page was the chat room. None of us would have dreamed of going through an entire day without checking in to see what the rest of the family was up to. We thought this was the end-all in family connectedness!
How quickly that all changed! Now we have smartphones and a download called WhatsApp. Now we “chat” via our phones. Even better, we can share photos and videos. I saw my granddaughter’s missing front teeth and the progress of my daughter’s house construction in New York, my grandson’s fascination with his dad’s power drill and his sister showing off her dance moves in Massachusetts. I can see and hear two other granddaughters playing in a violin recital and dancing at a Feis in Maryland. On Mother’s day I did face-time with my kids and grandkids - hundreds of miles away and they blew me kisses, sang me songs and showed me their latest artwork, and toys.
Then there’s Facebook and Twitter! Who could have even begun to imagine the effect Facebook and Twitter would have on our social lives just a few years ago? Turns out these social mediums and dozens of others can either be the making or breaking of us. Sadly, a congressman from New York found out just how devastatingly ruinous it can be to post something he shouldn’t have. But conversely, an acquaintance of mine gave up waiting for the publishing world to recognize her talent and she self-published her book, which by word of mouth, spread over the country and the world via the internet and became a best seller beyond her wildest dreams. For most of us, they are just another way of sharing the things that make life fun, interesting, challenging and rewarding. Or for staying in touch with all the people we know, no matter how our paths might diverge.
And Blogs! Keeping a personal journal online for the whole world to follow. You can share ideas and information on any topic you can think of. There’s Skpye if you want to see who you’re communicating with. U-tube to share videos. Wikipedia, Ask.com - Google has become a verb! Don’t know the answer to something? Google it!!
Is it any wonder I can’t remember where I heard something? Now if only my smartphone could start an alphabetical file to help me keep track of things. Oh wait—maybe there’s an app for that!
The abundance is a blessing. And no matter what kind of a mood I'm in, there's surely something I will enjoy curling up with. We often take the luxury of reading for granted. We never think about the gift of knowing how to read as just that, a gift. How often do we remember how fortunate we are to live in a country where we have the freedom to read anything we want. Even the smallest of our towns have public libraries where anyone is welcome to come and browse. Our electronic age has made it even easier to acquire books. We can read them on paper, held in our hands, or we can read them on Kindles and Nooks, on our smart phones and our tablets and our computers. Think about the pioneers who traveled west in covered wagons, carrying a handful of carefully chosen books with them and re-reading them over and over. Or the rare soldier or sailor who had but one book to his name and that book a prize possession. How about the indentured servant or slave who had been fortunate enough to be taught how to read because their work required it and they treasured a cast off book regardless of the subject matter. Or a prisoner with a precious book secreted under a mattress to be read only when no one was looking. I wonder what they would think of my library? Of my riches?
It occurs to me that they would think I was lucky beyond belief. So, I guess the idea of trying to decide what to read next or worrying about the overflowing piles would make them smile or shake their head at me in reproof. Should I ever get up in the dark of night and come into my library and find one of these book-starved ghosts from the past curled up on my loveseat with one of my books in their hand, I think I'll ask them if they'd like a cup of tea to go with it and leave them in peace to enjoy the rest of my collection.
