Serving the High Plains
Serving the High Plains
Sometimes, this woman from Ima thinks the world is against those of us who are unable to stay up with technology or anything that has to do with the computer world.
I know I should have been born several centuries ago because I can't begin to keep up with the vocabulary, much less the various gadgets with which I come into contact.
For instance, a couple of Sundays ago when Prissy and I were preparing for our drive into the country, I noticed the low tire icon was showing on the otherwise dark dashboard. That dark board is a pain when I want to see what really is happening in various areas of the car. Of course, it turns on its little lights when they aren't really in demand.
After walking around the car, I decided we could manage to get to a station without any problem. Ordinarily, I would have been able to check the dash and tell the young man which tire was low and how much air it needed.
While trying to cause the lights to turn on, I most definitely pushed the wrong button without knowing it. Only after we started to leave town did I realize the speed showing on the speedometer and that which we were going surely did not agree.
Cars were passing me even though the arrow showed I was going 80. You guessed it. I had hanged to kilometers and was completely out of touch with reality.
I turned around, sped home at a snail's pace, parked in the garage, began talking to the dash, and finally got the lights to work long enough for me to return to our own system. We then took a very short drive just to be sure we were back to normal.
The television is just one more gadget to cause attacks of ulcers. Mine decided to show who was boss by turning itself on and off without any notice.
I'd turn it on, begin to watch a program, and it would turn itself off. That went on for several nights before it let me win a few times.
Of course, trying to find the programs advertised in the TV guide in the paper is not always possible. Suddenly, channels are changed, thus wrecking an evening's entertainment. At other times, particular channels become silent, frozen, or dotted with little squares, again ruining chances of enjoying a particular program.
Most of these problems are completely out of our control, but they are frustrating beyond words.
Yes, I well remember when we didn't have to cope with any of the above problems. We lived a quiet life in those canyons and didn't have to think about any computerized gadgets.
We did much reading, talking, and playing games in the evening. The cars either ran or they didn't, but a simple adjustment usually got them on the road for a few more miles.
I enjoy some of today's luxuries, but they tend to cause all too much tension when they don't work properly. Patience doesn't.
Lynn Moncus is a Tucumcari resident and can be contacted through the Quay County Sun by calling 575-461-1952.