Recently, have you heard someone lament about “the good old days?” You know, when things were simpler and life was easier? I hear that kind of message often as it relates to computing issues. Statements like “Letters were easier to write and send when we just used pen and paper. Computers are so frustrating!” “You can’t even go to apply for a job in person anymore, it all has to be online. Computers are so frustrating!” You get the gist. However, I would like to offer a different point of view:
Two Friends
The other day, I was thinking about two people from my past. The first, Bob Heilman, was the owner of a small business in my home town of Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. His business, The Hill Studio, was the official photography firm for John Harris High School, my alma mater. I worked closely with him as the student photographer. Plus, I worked in his studio. My best friend, Bob Jones, worked in the negative dark room and I worked in the print room. Mr. Heilman and I had a wonderful friendship. He was the person who introduced me to Broadway – a love I still carry strongly.
Yet, it struck me that I don’t have a single photograph of the man. Why not? Because, in “the good old days” we didn’t carry around cameras which also happened to be phones. In fact, in those days, we didn’t even have digital pictures – we had negatives and printing paper.
The second person I was thinking about was Bob Bender. He was also a friend of Bob Heilman’s but many people from Harrisburg knew Mr. Bender through his alter ego. Oh, I do have one picture of Bob and I together. Have a look:
Yep, that’s me at age 4 telling Bob Bender, oops, I mean Santa Claus, what I wanted for Christmas. Bob was the official Santa for Joe The Motorists’ Friend, a local auto parts chain. It was ten years later before I would meet the man behind the beard and get to know the real him. Again, the only pictures I have of Bob are him as Santa. Why? Same reason, no cell phones! There just wasn’t an easy was to take a picture and no simple way to store the picture even if you were able to take it.
The Good Old Days Are Now
Whether you realize it or not, the good old days are now. The computing age is an awesome time and the days really are good. We have access to easily-taken photos and videos, storing them and recalling them for use whenever we need them.
Of course, our new abilities don’t come without challenges and frustrations. Helping you work through these computing-related roadblocks is why Keystone Computer Concepts exists. My primary ways of offering help include Remote Technical Support and my YouTube Video Channel. If you haven’t visited it yet, I invite you to do so. If you aren’t a subscriber, I strongly urge you to subscribe. You’ll find the channel HERE.