My dad is now more than 80 years old. He drops by my shop from time to time and each time the conversation is not much different. All the technology amazes him. For someone who saw the world go from horse and buggy to today's modern age it must be truly amazing.
He recently had me scan a picture for him of him standing next to his first car. It was taken in the late forties. The car was already more than 10 years old but he was proud, and rightfully so. It was quite the accomplishment in those days for a young man!
My dad has never used a computer in his life and I doubt he ever will. He owns a cell phone but never listens to messages left there. He says if they want to talk to him they'll phone back. My dad watches in amazement when I do a google search for him, wondering out loud just how it all works. My computerized router totally baffles him - for how does it know where to go and what to do next? And how can I design the files in my office and send them to another room in my shop? The idea that I video conference around the world while sitting at my desk is a foreign concept to his mind. I sometimes try and explain how it works but I may as well have spoken in another tongue. It is a foreign language to my dad. He just shakes his head and says he wants no part in it.
All the modern communication devices and electronic tools are essential in our work. They are tools that we combine with creativity and imagination to do the things we do.
I imagine in another twenty years my grand daughter will show me the latest electronic device and what it can do. I too will be amazed. And like the many stories my dad told me, I will tell her stories of how I was born before the age of television, cell phones, faxes and computers. She'll most likely think of me as very old, antiquated and out of touch. She will probably wonder just how we managed in the olden days...
-grampa dan
