Are some of you male readers old geezers like me? England claims origin of the term geezer although we've heard it enough to know the meaning, haven't we? Usually used for men only. Discriminatory? Sexist? Don't know. At least, I haven't heard it applied to women. Is that enough to excuse me ladies?
Many young sprouts are genuinely convinced that we are geezers. Has modern technology passed you by too? Have you been humiliated by one of those young geeks (a term often used interchangeably with nerd) who flagrantly demonstrate the attitude that we must be technologically inept?
Have we read the manual? No! Everything else hasn't failed yet!
The quantity of modern technology that has us old geezers buffaloed truly amazes the geek. I try to make the case, somewhat unconvincingly, that I could get it if I truly wanted to, but I don't really need it and don't want to. Haven't you been able to sell that story either? I used to think that there were only two stories that no one would believe -- how a man got a black eye and how the girl got a mink coat.
And to make it even worse for me, I've been outed by my own grandson who several years ago asked me in genuine concern, "How do you get by Grandpa -- without a cell phone?" He undoubtedly wonders how many important calls I have missed or have been unable to make. It doesn't make sense to him that I just don't want one. Everybody who is somebody has at least one cell phone.
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To make matters even worse, I don't drink Starbucks Coffee either. Is there no hope for an old geezer like me?
Aging folk have learned not to worry about the newer inventions that are touted by sophisticated advertisers to make living easier -- but actually seem to complicate life. We old geezers look at the bigger picture and have only two days of the week that we need worry about. One of these days is yesterday with our faults, blunders, aches and pains. But yesterday is gone, no technological wonders, no amount of money or geek help will bring it back. Yesterday is gone. All gone! And good riddance!
The other day we've learned not to worry about is tomorrow, with many potential adversaries, burdens and poor performance with any and all new technology that crosses our path. Tomorrow's sun will rise in splendor or be covered by clouds, but it will rise. We've learned to stop mentally wrestling with the unborn.
That leaves us with only one day -- today. We can deal with one day; we've had many of those that we've already dealt with satisfactorily. It is not today's experience that drives mankind up the wall, it is self incrimination and bitterness for something that happened yesterday and the imagined dread of what tomorrow may bring.
Not for us! We old geezers will continue to live one day at a time. We've done it for many years -- without Ipods, Blackberries or whatever new technology is already in general use or may hit the markets tomorrow. We'll continue to do it -- one day at a time!
Bernie Hughes, Ed.D., is a retired educator who resides in Superior. He can be reached at Bernie1@cpinternet.com .
