This Day and Age

What a wonderful life we have in this day and age.

That’s what everyone tells me. So I wonder what they mean by “Day and age”.

Well, of course the day is easy to figure out, but I am not sure about the age remark. Do they mean now that I have turned 40? How could most people even know that. Besides, I don’t look a day over 37. Perhaps they are referring to the era of computers and technology. Why in fact I am typing this thanks to the genius of an overpriced and now outdated computer. It plays soothing music to me while I click away at the keys. There are scads of wonderful programs in it to make my life easier. It can calculate, schedule, edit pictures, even make movies and new cd’s.

However, most people that I talk to don’t even begin to use any of that. The computer just sits and collects dust, mainly because they don’t know how to use it. So if we are all coerced into thinking we cannot live without a computer, then buy one, and let it sit because it is intimidating, how does that make life better? Well, you can look anything up on the internet in an instant, if your internet provider is good and you can sort through all the pop up ads for discount airfare, showing us pictures of locations that we will never be able to afford to go to, because we sunk all of our money into this keyboard, screen and little square box that makes funny noises once in a while. If you can actually find the information you are looking for, you don’t actually have to even read it. You can save it in your pc, to be forgotten about like a Christmas toy on the 2nd of January.

What progress! Before you had to trudge to a public library, where there are no noises of televisions or video games, and look it up, then browse through volumes of classic literature and research material, until you find it, triumphant in the fact that you successfully used the Dewey Decimal system. After finding the material, you then had to sit in a comfortable chair, in the peaceful solitude and read. After absorbing the information and feeling refreshed, you could then take a nice walk home, weather permiting, and get exercise to boot!

Wow, that was horrible. I am sure glad those days are behind us.