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JIM “PAPPY” MOORE: Dragging Me In – Kicking and Screaming

By JIM “PAPPY” MOORE

I have resisted the society-wide movement to the smart phone. I held onto my old flip phone as long as I could. It literally fell apart in my hand while I was talking on it. My nephew and my son, both about forty, practically had to hog-tie me for my own good, but they managed to ease me into the world of the smart phone. 

My son helped me take my first baby steps, which were wobbly and full of fear and uncertainty. But it was my nephew who really got me running like a sure-footed toddler. He gave me his iPhone and tutored me in its use. 

He was living with me when he was 18 and I was fifty. That was when I finally relented and got my first home computer. Sure, we had them in the office for many years before, nevertheless I always resisted getting the home computer with the mysterious and uncertain internet. I got a home computer in 2000, and fell headlong into the world of the internet and home computers. 

I drew the line on phones. I clung to my landline throughout. I got my first cell phone in 1993 and have had them since, but never texted, and never used them much. They were back-ups. Strictly for use when a landline was not available.

I have lamented the take-over of smart phones in my columns for years. I still find their dominance in society a mixed blessing. As I have said in the past, the cell phones are getting smarter but the people using them are getting dumber. That is still true. So much information, so little knowledge.

I will admit that smart phones offer a host of things which come in handy. Texting is made easier with typing boards, auto-corrects, spelling, word suggestions, and ease of reading. Weather in my area at my fingertips is a big bonus. News I can scan easily any time, anywhere is a very handy asset.

I have yet to learn well how to use the camera, but I have taken a few photos which came out acceptably. I have not used the video camera, but look forward to doing so. 

There remain many aspects of the new phone with which I am unfamiliar. As I have done many times in my life, I recall the wise words of my Dad when I had some new, some hard task to take on: “Jim, if you can’t get out it, get into it.” It’s been over fifty years since Daddy passed away at the young age of forty-five. Losing him was the hardest thing I had to get into it because I couldn’t get out of it. His passing fueled my desire to knuckle down, get my degree, get my law degree, and pursue my career in it.

Now I am seventy-two and this old dog did not really want to learn this new trick, but life has a way of kicking you in the rear and saying “you can’t get out of this, so you might as well get into it.”

Okay. I’m doing it. Happy now, smart phones? 

I know how this goes. I’ll get into it. I’ll learn all the various bells and whistles the new phone offers. I’ll learn how to use it like a pro in time. I’ll make it serve me well. 

Like the cars I have driven the past fifty-eight years, I will make these devices serve my needs. I will master their use and apply them to my life. I will communicate better, faster and more completely. 

My trusty pad and pen will never be far away, however. I will still use them daily as I always have. I will still do my writing on my computer screen, typing away as I do right now in this column. In the end, it is the person who controls the device. It should never be the device controlling the man, or woman, or child.

Copyright 2022, Jim “Pappy” Moore. All rights reserved.

3 Comments

  1. Cece on March 6, 2022 at 8:51 am

    Again, proud of you. Now you can do videos of your grandkids like we all do. Oh, be careful of what you say because your smart phone is listening to you.

  2. Robyn Talbot on March 6, 2022 at 9:39 am

    I’m Proud Of You 🎊😁🎉👍

  3. Lyle Witherell on March 6, 2022 at 9:51 pm

    Great column! I love my iPhone and iPad. The camera and video are fantastic. You will be a pro in a week.

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