The Modern Age

As I sit and write this on my iMac, I have Skype running so Erik can call me back from Germany. The first time I ever used a ‘VDT’ (video display terminal) was my junior year of college in the newsroom of the Iowa State Daily.

Previously I’d been a broadcasting major at Central Michigan University. And this week a friend of mine here on the prairie, Ann, got another Michigan ‘girl’ and I together for lunch. Carol, a Michigan State grad, is a local radio talk show host.

We sat and reminisced about splicing audio tape with a razor blade and scotch taping it back together. That long-ago production class was my first inkling that anything that involved even ‘rudimentary’ technology was probably not for me.

My mother runs all the remotes for the TV/Blu-ray/Netflix box/streaming. I turn the television off and manage to shut the whole system down.

However, I’m pretty handy at navigating search engines so it all evens out.

Hours ago when I started this, I maybe had a point. But it’s long-forgotten.

Thanks to ‘modern’ technology, I can chat with my older son – for free – as long as I want. We can talk books, writing, and whether we should lock younger brother Andrew out of my office when he leaves for a minute.

Erik will be home in two weeks from his study abroad trip.

It can’t come soon enough for any of us.