I love gadgets. iPods, iPads, labtops, mimios, cell phones, you name it I try to find a way to use it. But recently I have had a change of heart. Apple recently came out with eTextbooks. While I became very excited about this announcement, my husband stopped me in my tracks. He began to ask questions that I had difficulty answering. As I jabbered on about immediate vocabulary tools, digital flashcards, and beautiful graphics, he asked what if something happened and we no longer could access the Internet or as the world faces WWIII we lose the ability to charge our batteries, knowledge would be lost. Now, while I am usually the optimistic one in the marriage, my husband had me thinking. When is the last time you wrote a letter? Do you blog or keep a diary? Do you had write your recipe cards or file them away in a computer file. When is the last time you have seen Jane Doe from high school? Because she is on your Facebook.
When my Grandmother passed away right before Christmas the entire family was able to fly home. Not only my parents and sisters, but uncles, aunts, cousins, and even second cousins. People that I physically have not seen in years, but felt connected to just the same...thanks to Facebook or Skype. After the funeral the aunties and uncles laid out the last of my grandmother's belongs. To some they may had view it as nothing more than a few items and pictures. Put for that short moment in time, my grandmother came back to life in her bibles, bells, uno cards and recipes. The recipes were nothing special; Hamburger Gravy and Mash Potatoes, Tator Tot Casserole, and of course Orange Fluff. But what was so meaningful was the beautiful handwriting that was gracefully written on each card. Where did the are to handwriting disappear to? I know kids today that can't even sign their names because they don't know cursive. Should I worry about this or am I just old while the world is getting younger?
Another example of how the world is acting younger than I... Estate sales, love them. However, this past weekend I found something a little disturbing. The estate sale was located a large three story home in Burton. The previous owner had been a school teacher. It was apparent by the number of books available for sale and the handwriting lessons and supplies. As I was going through a box of old frames, I came across the woman's bachelor's degree, master's degree, and her permanent teaching certificate from the State of Michigan. I took them to the individuals running the estate sale, and stated that I felt these must have been missed by the family. They responded with the fact that the family saw them and placed them in the box themselves. I was devastated. If this woman worked has hard as I did to get her degrees, they were priceless documents. But in this day in age, people have lost their sense of history, work ethic, and sentimental value in items. Everything has to be new, fast, and bright. Know wonder we have kids suffering from ADHD. When you want something it has to happen at that minute. You have to be informed within the second, and god forbid if you actually have to work for something. My mentality makes me feel that I am getting old, while the world is simply acting younger.
