Enough

I do most of my non-virtual shopping within a 1/2-mile radius of my house, for two reasons. I dislike shopping and I am lazy. My two favorite haunts are a grocery store that is 5 blocks from my house and a locally-owned pharmacy-has-everything store that is 4 blocks from my house (less if I drive around the backside of it, hoping I don't clip a trash dumpster in the process).

A recent early morning visit to the pharmacy store found me searching for a checkout lane with the signal light on. I heard a muffled voice at the first checkout and upon further investigation saw a frazzled checker rummaging around on the floor under the register. There was another young man crawling around on the floor, as well. I asked if their lane was open for business, and the frazzled lady popped her head up and said, yes, she could check me out but only if I wasn't using their store app. because the little reader thingy wasn't working.

I said she could rest easy because I wasn't going to use the app. because I never remember to carry my phone with me. She was relieved to hear that and proceeded to check me out while the young lad continued to dink around on the floor, attempting to remedy the app. reader problem. A line was beginning to form behind me and I could see in the checker's eyes a look of muted terror as she wondered how she would continue without the magic reader thing.

Just as I finished my transaction, I saw the blue lights on the reader machine fire up and start flashing. The checker breathed a huge sigh of relief and asked the young man, "What did you do?" He looked at her with all the hubris of youth and replied, "I fixed it."

We looked at each other and quickly agreed that we need our young friends in our lives because we are suffering from TID, Tech Idiocy Disorder. I know the checker wanted to understand how the young man fixed the problem so she could be self-sufficient if the reader blitzed out on her again. I also know the young man saw no reason to share his super power with someone a couple decades older than himself.

I know of no antidote for TID and I am not sure I am searching for one. Sometimes, I think it is technology that keeps the older generation humble. No doubt, there were a few harrumphs when the first horseless carriage putt-putted by an older person, followed by a discussion or two on the value of horses.

My 91-year-old mother tells many tales of changing technology over the decades. She experienced the beginnings of car travel, party-line telephones, rural electricity and indoor toilets. She dabbled in computers for a few years before her mind started weakening. Now, she looks at me and says, "I don't even know what a smartphone is and I don't want one. I have everything I need and that's enough."

Amen.