BEFORE THE INTERNET

My son is 36 years old. My daughter is 34. Neither one of them can remember a world without the internet. I confess I’m having a little trouble remembering it myself. Was there really a time when you could drive your car without a phone ringing in your pocket or purse? When you couldn’t order your food until you actually got to the restaurant?

A time when you were watching an old TV show and wondered whether one of the actors was still alive but had no way of finding out? A time when you weren’t sure when the football game started or what channel it was on so you had to check the sports section of the newspaper? A time when you actually HAD a newspaper? A time when you had to go out of your house and speak to your neighbors and friends to learn all the latest gossip? When you had to slip into the dressing room at the clothing store and try on that new pair of pants before buying?

A time when you used a dictionary to look up the meaning of a word? When you had to call the local movie theater and listen to a recording of all the showtimes? When you had to watch the local TV channels to get the latest news and weather? When you looked at your watch to know what time it is? When you had to use alarm clocks and stopwatches? When you turned on the radio to listen to your favorite music? When you had to sit down and write a letter to someone and put it in the mailbox and wait days for it to be delivered? When you needed a camera to take a picture, and then had to wait for the film to be developed?

A time when you had to look for a phone booth to make a call if you were away from home? When you had to depend on night clubs or churches or your workplace to find someone you might be interested in dating? When there was no such thing as “on demand” and you had to wait to watch your favorite show until the TV network aired it in its weekly time slot? When you had to be at your home to open your garage door, or turn on your lights, or adjust your thermostat? When you had no generic computer voice to whom you could address a question? When you boarded your dog and you couldn’t watch it all day on a live camera? When you needed a typewriter to type an essay like this?

A time when you had to go to a store to shop? When you needed textbooks to go to school? When you didn’t have to worry that information on how to make a bomb was available with the click of a button? When there was no such thing as “sexting”? When you had to keep a paper log to know how much money was in your checking account? When you actually had to laugh out loud instead of writing LOL? When there was no such word as “selfie”? When we didn’t spend hours of our lives waiting for computers to boot up? When we thought the only definitive source of information was something called an encyclopedia?

Did such a world really exist? And if so, how did we all survive it?