Why I don't have an iPhone

We were talking about computers at Sunday School a week or so ago. This is a senior class and most of the members said that not only did they not have a computer, but that they had no desire to get one.

One woman said she had one, but only used it to Skype her grandson, who is in the military.

The rest agreed this was a legitimate reason to break down and buy a computer. Someone suggested e-mail as another incentive.

"Oh, I'd rather write a letter or call," came the objection.

With stamps now at 45 cents each, I have to assume these people have more disposable income than I do. Or they are more efficient than I am. I write letters, of course, but as soon as I put one in the slot at the Post Office I think, "Dang! I forgot to mention ..." Fill in the reason I wrote the letter in the first place. Which necessitates writing another letter to convey the missing information.

This is akin to our trips to the grocery store. Invariably, we come home with three bags full of foodstuffs only to discover we forgot the milk that was the reason for our going in the first place.

So I e-mail. That way, immediately after I hit "send" I can write another e-mail with "forgot to add" in the subject line. And it doesn't cost me another 45 cents, either.

Yes, I have sympathy for the Post Office, but there were people who had sympathy for the buggy-whip manufacturers, too, when automobiles came along.

I think I am fairly computer literate. I can create simple web sites, upload a file to Youtube, and format a book on CreateSpace. I Tweet (about once a month because I really don't have a lot to say) and have a Facebook account.

But when the Sunday School class's conversation turned to iPhones and iPads, I had to admit I was lost. I have a cell phone, but rarely use it. It took me a year to figure out how to delete old messages and another six months before a someone showed me how to lower the volume. I text, but I could walk to the person's house and deliver the message in the same length of time. I watch the ads on TV and wonder aloud, "How do they do that?" as people go from games to movies to news to finding a restaurant with a sweep of their index finger.

So here I am, a geezer with one foot in hi-tech world and another in the Land of the Luddites.

I can't help but wonder what technology will have today's baby boomers bumfoozled 20 years from now.

As does the old "technology" bewilder and frustrate our actual babies -- take a look.