Ode to My Computer

Ode to My Computer

  I’ve been thoroughly fascinated by all things internet since I got my first computer back in 1994. That first one had 8 megs of memory (which the store owner told me I would never fill up), costs me $2,100, and came equipped with the latest and greatest Windows 3.1. The sound of those old dial up modems firing up and even the static that followed made my day. E-mail was a beautiful thing. I was living in LaVergne, TN at the time (just outside of Nashville), and most of my family was still back in Texas. So now I could keep in touch without running up a big long distance phone bill. Not that I did keep in touch all that much previously, but since my Dad, one brother, my sister, and a couple of my cousins had also recently bought computers, it made it easy and exciting to do. My brother and I soon discovered MIRC chat rooms and it quickly became our favorite place to hang out almost every evening. We had our own chat room called Oasis Bar and had a blast talking to people from all over the world. My fascination with computers and the internet continues even now. Now grant you, I’m no expert on all things techy or software-ish, but I have learned to be pretty proficient at most simple tasks related to computers and have even built a few of them and loaded them with operating systems. So I’m not afraid of trying anything on my computer. I know that if I screw it up to the max, I can always just wipe it clean and start from scratch. So now that I’m back in the land of Mexican Restaurants located on nearly every corner, people that say, “Howdy”, and mucho armadillos, I never ceased to be amazed by some of them that I know who have had computers at least as long as I have. And they still don’t even know how to cut and paste something on theirs. They still don’t even know how to “rip” or “burn” a CD. Yep, that amazes me. But then I know others that don’t have computers and look upon them as almost something evil. They wouldn’t touch one with a ten foot pole. That I don’t get. Now my wife, who shall remain nameless because she doesn’t want her name or picture appearing anywhere on the internet, will use a computer to play games, but that’s about it. I set her up with an e-mail account and sent her a few e-mails just to get her started. That was a couple of years ago. She has never once checked her e-mail and seen that I sent her those original ones. ..she never listens to voice messages I leave her on her phone either by the way – she just sees that I called and calls me back without listening to them. But anyway, talk about cringe when I talk about paying all my bills and ordering things on the internet with my credit card. Why is that so scary? I’ve been doing it for years with no ill effects at all. To me, going to an ATM and withdrawing cash, or writing checks and putting them in the mailbox is a much more risky endeavor. I keep hearing that someone could steal my identity and clean me out. That one makes me laugh. Google the name Robert Landry and see how many hits you get. My identity is way too common already. And as far as cleaning me out – good luck with that one! To get cleaned out implies that you had something there to start with to get cleaned. I almost wish they would steal my identity. Some of my bills would get sent their way in a heartbeat. And I would tell all those pesky telemarketers that, “no he doesn’t live here anymore…try him at…” Anyway, these days I don’t know how I would survive without my computer and the internet. I know there are some potentially bad things and people out there, but I haven’t run across them in the nineteen years I’ve been a frequent visitor of the information superhighway. To me it’s a window to the world. And, from where I spend most of my days, if I couldn’t peek out that window from time to time, I have no doubt I would go quite insane – or at least crazier than I already am. Even now, at age sixty four, I keep learning new tricks on the internet. Blogging is new to me, as is twitter, and facebook.  I know I look up a hundred things every day. And no way I would have written three books without a computer or gotten them out there in at least a few people’s hands. So, to me the internet is the most wonderful, world changing, exciting thing they’ve come up with in…well forever. I won’t put up that big of a fight when they come to get my guns (I’ll still have my bow and swords). But come for my computer and it’s on Jack!