The Paper Chase

I don't get it.

In my high school there were no such things as calculators. Computers were the size of mobile homes. And vinyl was the only real form of music...an album. I was pretty forward thinking with the addition of new technology in my car: an 8-track. Very cool. Those days are gone.

I asked one of my kids the other day to figure out how many miles per gallon we got on our last tank of gasoline. We were on a short vacation and I wanted to know the mileage my SUV was getting. It was the "Dad" kind of thing to do. In fact, I remember my dad pulling out a piece of paper and figuring up how many miles per gallon we were getting in his new 1966 Chevy pickup. Did you get that? P.A.P.E.R. Unheard of nowadays...

Well, my brilliant child instantly whipped out a cell phone to access the calculator feature. I was stunned. "That's cheating" I said. "Figure it out on paper, this will be a good life-lesson for you". Groans ensued we had a nice little chat about it. He finally figured it out and I was satisfied. But it got me thinking...

8-track - cassette - CD - mp3 - Ipod - cell phone - camera phone, etc. I was part of them all. In fact, I was tech junkie. I love the stuff. We neeeed the stuff. But it's driving me crazy.

I had an organizer, I had a Palm Pilot. What do I use now? A notebook.
I have one of the latest camera phones. My complaint? It's not loud enough...I'd trade it for a phone I can hear in a restaurant.
I can afford to buy a new luxury car. I paid the one I had off instead.
I could buy a bigger house. All I want to do is pay this one off before I'm 65.
Email on a Blackberry? Nah, too fat to carry in my pocket.
and the list goes on...

Gee...I sound like my father. I remember when designer jeans first came out several decades ago. My dad commented: "If I'm going to pay that much for a pair of jeans, It's going to have MY name on them, not Calvin Klein's."

I laughed then. Now, I agree. Incredibly insightful.

Enjoy all the new things we have in life... but never lose sight of common sense, spending too much money on things you didn't know you needed, and paper.

Sometimes simpler is just plain better. No matter how cool it is.

Does anyone know where my tablet PC is? Forget it...I'll just use the original version.