I’ll admit it, I’m a neanderthal when it comes to technology. Imagine my surprise when on a recent trip to Florida that you had to have a cell phone to put your car in a parking lot in downtown Venice. What if you don’t have one, I asked my sister. You’re out of luck she said. I’m one of the few people on this earth that doesn’t have a television or a cell phone.
My television went twenty-five years ago when the cable price went up. Who wants to watch fourteen commercials in between programming. Count them sometime.
The cell phone is just something to lose. I can’t keep track of my dollar store glasses or hearing aids, never mind never mind a minicomputer with important contacts and information on it.
Imagine my surprise when a dahlia customer asked me at my farm if I have Venmo. I thought she was asking about a dahlia variety. She must have seen the look on my face and said “never mind I’ll go to the ATM.
I recently decided I needed a new radio, the only one in house is kaput. A few Christmas carols or a talk show may be enjoyable in front of the pellet stove. I’ll try Target in Milford I thought. The place wasn’t crowded at 7 pm on a Saturday night two weeks before Xmas. The shelves were as devoid of radios as the store was of customers.
Next stop Best Buy. Once again, I didn’t want to spend $146.99 to hear Bing Crosby sing White Christmas. There were things in the electronics section that I had no clue what they were. The next morning Amazon had a selection and my new $19.99 radio should be delivered by Monday.
Is everyone still blaming the pandemic on a host of society’s ills? How about those supply lines. Market Basket in Ashland has replaced Meow Mix cat food with Friskie’s at a higher price. My cat Missy is angry.
I stood there at the butter bin with another customer and suddenly discovered, the house brand had disappeared. We both had perplexed looks on our faces. Guess we’ll have to support the Vermont Cabot brand I said.
And how about tartar sauce. That too seems to have gone the way of the milkman. Maybe if I had a cell phone, I could just ask Siri — show me where the tartar sauce is.
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Very clever Bobby! You are a gem!
Just mix relish and mayo Mr. Blair
And another thing! It seems that you need a cell phone with your ticket as a QR code on your phone to enter Fenway Park on game day! Heck! That offends us people who have saved paper tickets for decades and have scrapbooks filled with them from games all over the country! Does this mean that only cell phone users can attend a game!?! And, have nothing tangible to remind you of the day and the game? On last Opening Day, I was confronted with this insult. And yet, with a little bit of thought, I did find a way to get that paper ticket. It can be done, with a little effort and imagination, and I have something to show that I attended the game. Just as Bobby had to do some hunting and gathering, so can we sometimes push back on the cell phone culture – but it does take some effort, sometimes more than mixing relish and mayo – both items which have also increased in price!
Way to go, Bobby, I have been TV free for over 40 years. When I say that people look at me in shock and when they offer me one and I refuse I think they want to commit me. The radios don’t work here that is OK because my computer sometimes works, but do I know how to use half the stuff on it? Jean Morrissey
Bob,
You are much more modern than Neanderthals. You are more like Cro Magnon.
Who needs a TV when the comedy writing above is so entertaining?