Technology Leaving Us Behind

I’m feeling old.  Half the uses of my phone, I have no idea how to use.  It’s even worse on my computer.  ¾ of the features of the uses on it confound me.  I borrowed a friend’s Volkswagen once and it started raining.  I couldn’t find the control for the windshield wipers so I started pressing buttons.  They finally came on during this hot June day.  I had the air conditioning on full blast yet I was sweating to death.  I drove around all day like that.  When I returned the car, I left it running and told my friend there must be something wrong with the air conditioner because I was soaked.  He sat in the driver’s seat and said, “You do know you have the heated car seats on, don’t you?”  I felt like an idiot.  It was not always like this.  In grammar school, we used the latest Commodore Computers.  We learned Basic language and programing.  Now kids are taught the newest versions of windows in school.  They do projects on PowerPoint, accounting on Excel and a host of new programs they can download but I won’t because I’m scared of getting a virus.  Yes, I went from knowing technology to being outdated in a few years.  My father went through the same thing.  He designed hi-fi sets for Zenith.  Then he became an advertiser followed by editor and technical writer.  He would go into the nuclear reactors and talked to the scientists about how they worked.  Then he would write it in a way lesser scientists could understand.  Even he was left behind by technology.  But fear not, those who identify with me, my children who make fun of me now will be left behind too one day by their own children.  Then they will be the ones laughed at.  Tale solace in that.