When i was a kid I spent hours writing to my friends during holidays,I also kept a diary which recorded such mundane things as how many times I had gone to the loo.Obviously for as a kid it probably meant a lot.As we got older my friends and I were allowed to visit each others houses to play and our mothers always churned out some good food (nothing shop bought )and we ended up being tired and dirty by the time it was leaving time.As teenagers we didn't spend too much time on the telephone (most of us didn't have one of those in the house) but we did manage to maintain friendships that have stood the test of time.Friendships not fuelled by constant status updates or text messages.Friendships that spanned a lifetime and with huge gaps between but which have stayed for ever fresh.Its small wonder then that I have friends from school,college,work,bus stop friends etc.People that I share common bonds with and who serve different purposes in my life.
Then came technology and boy did it change my life.First the written letter went out of the window,then the phone became so much a part of our lives that not having one on ones person made one uncomfortable.I remember telling people I didn't have a cellphone and it was met with blatant disbelief.How could one live without one.Well I resisted for ages but when the parents were in hospital I decided that I had to make use of technology but let me admit I never took to it as duck to water.So today my phone and I are kind of divorced or we just choose to stay away from each other as far as possible.My phone is always charged but I make it a point to check it once or twice a day.Now lets face it there is nothing earth shattering that can happen can it.I know for instance that my friend texts me at 3pm to check on swimming plans.Another friend will call on Saturday's to check if I am up to attending church on Sunday and that's about it.So why am I so amused that a old friend of mine in London is going nuts trying to get me to see her messages.
Now London and my town are on different parts of the world and obviously there is a time difference so while she wakes up I am well into my afternoon nap so not surprisingly I miss her messages.She has been ranting about how i refuse to use technology,why do I have a phone if I don't check it is her constant refrain but the point is that I really don't care about it.I am sure if we wanted to skype we would find a way with or without the phone.
The other day I wrote to my 82 year old friend in another part of the world.Its not point talking to her and her hearing is nothing to write home about so there I was cramming the pages with news.Its been years since I wrote a letter and sent it by snail mail but a few weeks later I got a letter by post.Oh the joy of opening a letter ,to see someones handwriting to realise that someone sat down and penned it and put in energy and time because so much has to be said and said in that letter.There is no sending an attachment a little later.I read it and enjoyed it and read it out to the rest of the family.Obviously I was not the only happy one,my friend was just as pleased.I had brought alive her life in many ways.I had described the town she lived in many years ago,the changes that have happened in the twenty odd years that she has been away,the little things that our families did together and for her,living in a retirement home,that letter meant a great deal.For me it was a throwback to the days when letters had to be written to each person individually.No marking copies or mass mail.It was a wonderful time and even if my friends have forgotten,remember if you get a letter from it it may bring back some of the joy of the old life.
Then came technology and boy did it change my life.First the written letter went out of the window,then the phone became so much a part of our lives that not having one on ones person made one uncomfortable.I remember telling people I didn't have a cellphone and it was met with blatant disbelief.How could one live without one.Well I resisted for ages but when the parents were in hospital I decided that I had to make use of technology but let me admit I never took to it as duck to water.So today my phone and I are kind of divorced or we just choose to stay away from each other as far as possible.My phone is always charged but I make it a point to check it once or twice a day.Now lets face it there is nothing earth shattering that can happen can it.I know for instance that my friend texts me at 3pm to check on swimming plans.Another friend will call on Saturday's to check if I am up to attending church on Sunday and that's about it.So why am I so amused that a old friend of mine in London is going nuts trying to get me to see her messages.
Now London and my town are on different parts of the world and obviously there is a time difference so while she wakes up I am well into my afternoon nap so not surprisingly I miss her messages.She has been ranting about how i refuse to use technology,why do I have a phone if I don't check it is her constant refrain but the point is that I really don't care about it.I am sure if we wanted to skype we would find a way with or without the phone.
The other day I wrote to my 82 year old friend in another part of the world.Its not point talking to her and her hearing is nothing to write home about so there I was cramming the pages with news.Its been years since I wrote a letter and sent it by snail mail but a few weeks later I got a letter by post.Oh the joy of opening a letter ,to see someones handwriting to realise that someone sat down and penned it and put in energy and time because so much has to be said and said in that letter.There is no sending an attachment a little later.I read it and enjoyed it and read it out to the rest of the family.Obviously I was not the only happy one,my friend was just as pleased.I had brought alive her life in many ways.I had described the town she lived in many years ago,the changes that have happened in the twenty odd years that she has been away,the little things that our families did together and for her,living in a retirement home,that letter meant a great deal.For me it was a throwback to the days when letters had to be written to each person individually.No marking copies or mass mail.It was a wonderful time and even if my friends have forgotten,remember if you get a letter from it it may bring back some of the joy of the old life.
