STRAWBERRY AND VANILLA ICE CREAM – a very courageous act.
Yesterday, I found myself walking through the Barnes and Noble bookstore and as I had a little time on my hands, I talked to a young man who was promoting the $99 Nook. He was patient as he took me through some of its features and even wrote down the address for a site where I could practice at home on my PC. He invited me to come back with any questions I might have and he looked so hopeful, I nodded that I would. Leaving him, I headed toward the Dollar Store and bought another book by a writer I didn’t know. I can’t help it. I like the feel of paper when I read.
I was happy with my new book but felt like a stick in the mud because of my reluctance to embrace electronic readers. I decided to do something new to prove I could change. At the ice cream kiosk, I ordered a cone of strawberry and vanilla flavors. In the past, I’d always chosen chocolate.
(courtesy: www.klondikebar.com)
Arriving home, I was buoyed by my experiment and turned on the PC intending to enter the site that would allow me to practice using the Nook. The page popped up as promised but so did a number of instructions for downloading enabling software. That’s when my courage failed. I admit I don’t trust my computer. It’s been known to belch volcanic ash or leave me stuck on a page with no way to escape except by shutting down the contraption. Sometimes hitting the exit button doesn’t work either… something about files needing to be closed.
At New Years I’d vowed to gain mastery over my PC and I have made inroads. I’ve found a teacher who comes to my home with a whip and handcuffs to teach me how to tame my electronic beast (Just kidding). Last week, she taught me to scan and save photos for my files, something I could never do, and after the lesson I felt empowered. Still, I’m not ready to download material on my own. I’ll wait for my teacher to come again. After all, I’ve already had one adventure this week and it wasn’t a great success. Next time I’m at the ice cream kiosk, I’m going back to chocolate.