I like to give my nieces a hard time about their cell phones. If you see any of them, you can almost bet they have their phones with them. And oh yes, you’ll know it, as they carry on a conversation with you in person, while simultaneously texting someone else.
I tell them that we’re going to have a “technology free” week, with no phones, computers, maybe even no tv. They roll their eyes when I start preaching about how we all rely too much on technology, because I don’t fool them. I’m a pretty big fan of all things new, tiny and shiny myself.
I love graphic design software, nifty little notebook pcs, tablets, and smartphones. What can I say? I’m a nerd. And a bookworm. I still read a lot, but these days, I rarely have a book in my hand because I do most of my reading on my Kindle.
But I think what I like best of all is Google. Oh how wise she is. And yes, I think of a her as a female…well, because she’s so smart. Sorry boys. And with her I know everything. Ask me a question; I bet I can give you an answer. The right one, thanks to Google. And with my phone, she’s with me all the time. If I don’t have her in my hand, you’ll probably find her in my pocket, close to my reach.
Ok, maybe I’m a little starry-eyed and over the top, but I still remember when knowledge wasn’t so easy to obtain. You had to work for it. If my nieces have a report for school, they can research and write it without ever leaving their computer chair. They don’t have to go to the library. Heck, they don’t even have to flip through a book. They take the internet for granted, but it still flat-out amazes me.
When I was a kid, and got assigned a report, mom had to work too. She had to take me to the library and wait, while I searched for books to check out in the card catalogue, and took notes from the Encyclopedia, because our library wouldn’t let us check those out. It was such a chore, and so time consuming…until I got my own Encyclopedias. I even remember the day we got them.
I was talking to my mom about it just the other day, and told her I thought it was a good story. She laughed and said, “Don’t be writing about how cheap I am Keli.”
For the record, Mom’s not cheap…exactly. She just knows how make things last. As a matter of fact, she still uses a vacuum cleaner that my granny bought from a salesman back in the 80’s. I’m not kidding. She really does. And it works great. But you won’t find my mom throwing away money on too many luxuries…well, unless Dad talks her into it. It’s just the way she is.
So back in the day, when salesmen would knock on our door, Mom sent them packing in a hurry. And its no wonder really. We didn’t have the extra money for their gadgets, and she had too much to do. She had a house to keep, two sons, and an exceptionally wonderful daughter to take care of.
But one hot summer day, when the Encyclopedia Man came a knockin’, Mom caved. He was peddling something she just couldn’t resist. Knowledge. A powerful tool that her children, a.k.a. her life, could use to better themselves.
Out on the porch she went, to hear his pitch about the joys and power of owning omnipotence of all subjects, A through Z. “Keli, keep an eye on Zach”, she hollered over her shoulder, right before the screen door slammed.
“Oh boy,” I mumbled to myself, as I set down my cat who had taken residence on my lap, to go find Zach. I adored Zach, still do, but he was a holy terror at three years old. He wasn’t mean. He was the baby, and he was spoiled. So if there was any trouble, his eleven year old sister didn’t stand a chance against the power of his sweet and cuddly cuteness.
Zach was in the living room, playing with his toys, being good as gold. “Telly Jean, let’s play,” he looked up and smiled. The little rascal really was cute. So play we did. He walked over to his toy box to get his toy barn while I gathered all the little plastic farm animals. I stood up to take the barn from him, and he stopped. His eyes darted past me as he stood frozen in place, and I looked to see what had diverted his attention. My cat. Gray and fuzzy, just begging for a little three year old to pick up and squeeze. Zach dropped his barn, and the bell on it dinged with glee as it made contact with my shin bone.
“Ow!” I rubbed my leg, trying to make the tingling stop. Then I heard it, the plinking of piano keys. I knew it was Zach. My shin forgotten, I chased after him. And there he was, standing on top of the ivories, frantically grasping for my cat who cowered, just out of his reach.
With a crash, the cat launched himself from his perch, taking out some of mom’s knick knacks. “Zachy stop,” I squalled, but quick as a flash, Zach was hot on his fuzzy tail, his chubby little legs pumping with determination. Joseph, my Golden Retriever appeared, and trailed after Zach, his tail wagging as he barked excitedly at the chase.
The screen door slammed open. “Zachary Claude!” my mom yelled from the doorway. Zach stopped immediately, and walked to Mom. His halo was attached firmly atop his head as his pudgy little hand grasped hers.
One look at Mom, and I knew I was in trouble, “Outside!” she ordered as she shot me the stink eye. I grudgingly obeyed, and plopped on the porch swing to quietly sulk. Oh yes, I could pout with the best of them. Head down, I determinedly watched my feet trail across the porch as I gently swung in brooding silence.
“Sorry about that,” I heard my mom say, and I quickly looked up. I’d forgotten all about the Encyclopedia Man. I eyeballed him with curiosity as he looked around in confusion at what I’m sure he deemed as chaos, but what we just knew as everyday life. The summer air was muggy, and sweat droplets beaded on his forehead. He wiped his face with his suit clad arm, retrieved his papers from his open case, and got back down to business.
“The first volume is free if you commit to purchasing the entire set in four easy installments,” he drolled. “I’ll leave the first volume today, free of charge.” He reached back into his case and withdrew a thing of pure beauty. My very own encyclopedias. The first volume of my collection anyway.
I took the encyclopedias and inspected them closely. The weight of the knowledge I held was heavy in my lap as I brushed them with my finger tips and coveted them with my gaze. I looked at Mom with hope shining in my eyes, and she calmly returned my stare before turning a steely eyed glare that Clint Eastwood himself would envy on the Encyclopedia Man. “And just how much are these easy installments?” she asked without blinking once.
I lost track of the conversation, distracted by the sound of Joseph whining and pawing at the door, not liking being trapped indoors while we were all outside.
Mom and the salesman continued to talk, and with each mention of cost, my hopes of owning a new set of encyclopedias were waning. Joseph started barking, so I only caught every other word. Finally Mom turned to the door, “Hush up Joseph!” she commanded, and then as she turned around she bellowed “No Zach!” Zach, who had been forgotten during the negotiations had made his way over to the Encyclopedia Man’s case, unobserved and was helping himself to its contents and thoroughly entertaining himself. With the wonderment only a three year old can possess, he giggled gleefully to himself as he grabbed up piles of sales contracts and chucked them proudly over the banister and watched them float ten feet down to scatter about in the yard.
The Encyclopedia Man seemed to have finally reached his limit. He rose from his seat and made his way down the steps to gather his sales records. “I’m so sorry…” Mom said. “It’s okay m’am,” he insisted as retrieved his papers. He looked up at us on the porch, Zach grinning, me with the encyclopedias still clutched in my lap, Joseph barking insistently at the door, and Mom leaning over the railing.
“How about I leave those books with you free of charge, and you can just mail in the paperwork?”
“That sounds great,” Mom replied, relief in her voice.
Mom never did send in the paperwork, but I did get my very own encyclopedias, even it wasn’t a complete set. From that day on, I tried to choose a subject for my reports that began with the letters A through D. Maybe my teachers just thought I was partial to the first part of the alphabet, but by any means, those were the only encyclopedias we had, so I used them as much as I could. At the time, I think I liked them more than Google.