Today’s world is all about convenience. Microwaves, cell phones, internet – gotta have it now or even quicker than that. Need to see a concert? Click here, click there and get your tickets online for live music anywhere in the world. Book a stay at a hotel with just a few clicks, check that bank account and even send a personal message to anyone, anywhere at any time – instantly.
But these conveniences come with a price. I needed to send a business letter recently. The problem was, I couldn’t remember how to do it. With so many email accounts and “contact us” forms online, sending an actual written (or in my case, a typed-out letter due to bad handwriting – I don’t know how many times I’ve gone to the grocery store with my own list and can’t read my own writing once I’m there) letter becomes a difficult task. I racked my brain trying to remember all the times that Mrs. Hart drilled into us exactly how to do it. I couldn’t piece together enough recall. So, yes, I Googled it. I still need to finish writing it though. Something about attention deficit…wait, what?
My wife and I have started making coffee from scratch. No, we’re not growing our own beans and roasting them but we’ve gone old school with a French Press (until it broke) and now a percolator. With so many stories about how our bodies are getting attacked with microplastics, we decided to try this route. It’s been fun. But then I realized why old folks used to get up so early in the morning. They had to brew their coffee from scratch in a percolator. It’s not a quick process and you don’t want to rush it even though I often do. And yes, you can burn coffee.
The process makes you slow down and think a bit. Coffee cups used to be much smaller. I have a couple of my grandmother Bibbie’s coffee cups replete with a saucer. I don’t normally use them for coffee but with the percolator, I did. It was a cool experience and helped me slow down and relax. Now we both enjoy our coffee more than the old Mr. Coffee machine. And it’s a whole lot hotter and harder to drink fast!
I’ve done my fair share of automotive writing and in doing so, I learned about all the gadgets in new vehicles, especially from 2000 to around 2008. I even bought a used 2001 GMC Yukon XL in 2004 and it was pretty high tech to me. I drove it till it rusted and I had some inheritance money in 2020 to upgrade again. This time, I got a 2016 GMC Yukon XL, but it was like going from a rotary dial phone to the latest iPhone with the technology leap. I didn’t even know how to start it when it arrived on the trailer from a Kansas City car auction. I had to Google what to do – put your foot on the brake, push the start button, hold your face just right and make sure you have the key fob in the vehicle with you. Then, every single knob, gadget, and setting was so foreign to me that I just sat there in the driveway trying to turn on the radio for a few minutes. However, the downside is that all of that technology can sometimes dumb you down while educating you. Without a backup camera, it’s hard to back up a vehicle for me. Without the warning sensors telling me I’m too close to things in the parking lot, I may bump into them.
Now, I try to take my eyes totally off the camera and see what’s out there for real. Sometimes I even get out of the car and check for myself. But one thing I’ll never ever forget. How to drive a stick shift. I had a manual 1980 Chevette from age 16 to 24, then got a manual 1982 Honda Hatchback from age 24 to 30. Fourteen years and literally hundreds of thousands of miles from Mississippi to Florida to Tennessee to California to Indiana to Michigan and everywhere in between.
I long to drive a stick shift again. And I know how to start it. Perhaps I’ll have a percolator cup of coffee when I do. Some things, you just never forget. Not even if you try.
