OK, ‘fessing up. To what? Nothing salacious; sorry. I’m just feeling proud of myself.
Well then, all the more reason to share. It really comes down to watching my fingers effortlessly gliding through a complex online banking concern. What a great feeling. Really!
That’s it?! I can imagine some of you (younger folk) are mildly shaking your heads, and muttering under your breath, “What’s the big deal?” The big deal is my white hair (or maybe silver?) in the eyes of our culture, generally signifies I’m of a certain age, and therefore relatively helpless in a technology-laden world. Since I’m older, let’s treat Jan as if she knows little about computers.
And, of course, as everyone knows, older folks don’t do technology (serious eye-rolling here). Thank you, culture, for my free “get out of technology pass.” Which I don’t want!
It’s true, I’m baffled, occasionally, by a technology obstacle on my iPad. But, jeez, I’m human! Technology seems to change every other day (have you noticed?). Whatcha gonna do? My silver-haired response to that “whatcha gonna do” inquiry? Send an SOS… to myself.
But first, I’m taking a step back from this personal SOS and returning to my childhood. My parents bought me a chemistry set, which in my eyes was the equivalent of creating magic. Well, either that, or a big mess. However, let’s concentrate on the magic. Pouring this and that into a test tube, and gently shaking, producing the awful smell of sulfur, or rotten eggs. Of course, there were other experiments that left a test tube frothing over, nonstop, covering the bathroom counter and dripping to the tile floor. Where was Mr. Clean when you truly needed him?
As a younger child, I felt proud of myself for following through on some complicated experiments. You may be thinking, “Gosh, she had a gift for chemistry.” Nope, in high school, I received a C on my report card (you try loving the periodic tables).
Somewhere along the path of growing up, I faltered. Sciences such as technology, physics and chemistry began to seem like foreign lands to which I had no ticket. Academic exploration, excluding the sciences, was an entirely different story. Throw me in that pond and I was a happy, paddling duckling.
Do I know what created this divergence? Maybe because, as a female, I was continually fed a message during the ‘50s and ‘60s that girls can’t do technical and science-y stuff? Who knows? So, yes, I felt stymied regarding sciences and technology. That door seemed to swing shut.
But, wait a sec, you’ve likely noticed that our changing world has become increasingly bound to technology. How the heck could I continue to function in light of my perceived science and techie deficits? Call someone for help! And I did, time and time and time again (some were even on speed dial). I called my wonderful, accommodating and dearly enabling friends for their kind assistance. And, yes, they’re still my friends.
Then Covid-19 showed its face. Sigh. With an underlying health issue putting me at higher risk, almost all my avenues for requesting help just dried right up. SOS’s for assistance hit the same wall all of us encountered with the pandemic — social isolation.
My science-y and techie deficits came to roost on my own doorstep. What does one do with guests on your doorstep? Invite ‘em in for a friendly chat. Get to know ‘em. And that’s exactly what I did. I began actively asking myself questions, Googling those techie places where I was stuck. And just kept asking and experimenting, again and again, until more light began to enter my technology darkness. And I loved that light so much that I’ve just continued right on digging.
Did I emerge from the pandemic as a science-y and techie whiz? Are you kidding? I’m a late bloomer and will always be catching up. But now I have friends asking me for computer assistance. This silver-haired, older human being is grinning.
Hey, bring on the next challenge.
Jan Hutton is a retired hospice/hospital social worker who believes in living life with heart and humor. She has happily lived in Chatham for 20 years.