Because I Said So

Generation Gap

My father is 77 years old. He is active, still runs a printing business fulltime, still stands before a congregation every Sunday to deliver the Lord’s message, and spends lots of Mondays fishing at a local lake.

My father doesn’t always live on the edge of technology – even though he understands the need for it, especially in the world of print today. He has managed to learn to use his cell phone, albeit to his standards, not ours (he doesn’t always carry it around with him!).  He has a DVR and cable box that he can program, and even a satellite radio in his vehicle.

However, computers have never been at the top of his “I need this” list. My mother is quite adept at computers, email and typing, and he has relied on her to provide any computer-generated data he needs. He believes (and probably rightly so) it isn’t necessary for “everyone” to know “everything.”  They have made this work in their lives for 60 years, why change now.

However, a couple of years ago my father was diagnosed with macular degeneration – his eyes are slowing fading away and eventually he will probably lose his eyesight. Having worn eyeglasses since I was 5 years old, I get it – not seeing stuff sucks.

For his 77^th birthday, we (family) decided to purchase a Kindle for him, because he has always been an avid reader, for education and for recreation. There was a bit of discussion regarding whether this was actually a good idea (see above about computers); but in the end we decided to gamble and get it. We figured if he didn’t use it, my mom might enjoy it.

Mom was a bit apprehensive, but she set up the Amazon account and showed him which buttons to push to search for and download books.  He chose a book, and I ordered the same book so we could read together and compare.

Well, he finished the first book, and ordered a second one without my mother’s help – she probably wouldn’t have even known if she hadn’t seen the Amazon email confirmation. Since then he has purchased other books, shared books with my brother, and generally operated the thing without much help from anyone.

Just as he has learned to use technology to suit him, my generation has done the same, as has my children and grandchildren’s generations. My grandchildren now ask to “facetime” with me, and if I hadn’t learned to text on my phone I probably would never communicate with my own sons. And recently, I read where IPad’s were being used to help people with disabilities to communicate better, and advance their careers and lives.

I’m glad that my dad has the gift of being able to read as much as he wants, and that my grandchildren’s world of technology will be much broader than I can imagine at this time. And me, well, I’m just hoping that soon I will be able to figure out how to get my photos off my phone and onto my computer!