No matter what the experts say, my 84-year-old brain has just so much
capacity, and its ability to absorb and process new information is not
unlimited. I also take exception to that popular commercial in which an adult
asks children if “faster is better.”
While I am enjoying my new Honda
CRV, I am still using some of that brain capacity to remember where the radio
and other controls are located, and just last week a friend finally showed me
how to open the sun roof.
When I purchased the new car, it made sense, I
thought, to get a new, larger GPS with updated road information. Big mistake!
The new, updated version is much more complex to operate since it has additional
features that I don’t need. Trying to “save” an address I recently put into the
GPS, the obstinate device was offering me a menu of “recently viewed addresses,”
“traffic alternatives,” etc., but the “saved” symbol had disappeared.
The
voice of my old GPS was “Dennis,” whose familiar, British accent I trusted. The
voice on the new device is a nasal-sounding woman whose presence doesn’t
reassure me at all when I get lost.
And dear reader, would you believe that the GPS does not come with an
instruction book? You must download all 142 pages of instructions from a website
onto your computer. As unlikely as it might be: What if you buy a GPS, but don’t
have a computer?
And speaking of computers, since I will be moving in
early May and my computer is an old one, I have asked our office technical
expert to help me purchase a new one. The “tech guy” there, Rick, informs me
that not only will I have to become accustomed to a new computer, but that the
latest version of Windows software is quite different and is a bit of a
challenge to learn. Believe me, the last thing you need when you are moving is
another challenge.
Remembering to call the post office, CL&P, the
phone company, the tax office, the bank, etc. and assorted magazine publishers
and credit card companies as well as which box has the Christmas ornaments would
challenge even a whiz like Bill Gates.
I will also need to replace my
old, beginning-to-malfunction answering machine. I shudder to think what new
contrivance I will have to learn to master, just to hear: “Sorry we missed you.
Please call for a trial subscription to 10 Days to Stronger Abs.”
When I
misplaced my cellphone charger, I went into Radio Shack to purchase another one.
The clerk, upon seeing the outmoded, but still perfectly good cellphone I was
using, rather disdainfully informed me that they did not carry chargers for such
an “outmoded” phone. So, I had to buy a new phone as well as a charger. That’s
great for American business interests. Not so great for a senior on a
budget.
As I look at some of the aging but still serviceable appliances
and other equipment I am sorting for my tag sale, I have a new appreciation for
many of them. They may be considered old-fashioned, outdated and obsolete, but
by golly, they are easy to use!
What's Causing the Current Real Estate Market, and Will It Last?
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Potential buyers and sellers have been curious lately about what will
happen in the near term for real estate in Connecticut? Is it too late to
sell this ...
2 years ago
