Social media is kind of amazing. I know that some folks hate it and make a point out of not having a Facebook account or a smartphone, but I’m not one of those. I’m at the opposite end of the scale and when something new comes out I am drawn to it like a moth to a flame. Cutting edge technology is not good enough for me but bleeding edge is. If you look at my hands there are an awful lot of cuts from sharp technologies…my clumsy handling of pocketknives with folding blades included. But what makes social media amazing is this…while writing this I just had a nice little chat with my nephew stationed in Korea. I was browsing Facebook and Surprise there’s my nephew with a message “how’s my favorite ugly Uncle doing?” Maybe it’s a guy thing or maybe it’s a family thing but my father, brothers, and nephews will never open a conversation with a complement. Fortunately for me, I’ve had more practice than my nephew at these opening shots and I had a quick retort. In the end, most folks forget that all these technologies are just tools; fancy hammers, screwdrivers, and socket wrenches. I’m really very grateful to all these techno-choices because I get my nephew popping up unexpectedly on Facebook, Facetime or Skype video chats with mom and dad, and regular brotherly insults from my bros. On the flip side though I am dying a slow death by email strangulation. Man how these technologies have developed is crazy. I was using DEC workstations in the 80s, granted I used them more for playing Star Trek, and my Mac used floppy discs and had a whopping 256K of memory. Anything that I printed over 50 pages had to divided up into multiple files because there wasn’t enough memory on the computer or printer to print from one file. So to me, Facebook, web pages, Facetime and Skype are just another step in the evolution of better tools. Yeah they dress them up better than hammers, but deep down underneath they’re just a fancy hammer.
Tools… a good truck is like one of the best tools you can have. A few things surpass a good truck, like a good dog and a good Dobro, but a truck is right up there. They haul good stuff, like my camping gear to the FDF, like mulch for my yard, like firewood, and like my boats and skis. But, even trucks get old and my truck is finally making its death rattle. My mechanic has diagnosed a terminally infirm transmission that might last a few months, maybe a year, and my oh my the sounds coming out of the gear box are heart rending. It’s been a great truck; bought it new in 1992 for $7,500, put in a couple sets of breaks, shocks, one rebuilt transmission and clutch, and put 255,000 miles on the clock. The moon is only about 215,000 miles away on average and I was hoping my wee beast would drive me back, but it looks like I’m going to have to do the humane thing and put it out of its misery soon. So sad to have to put down such a good truck.
Meanwhile, I’ve started looking for a new vehicle. I feel like such a fraud, betraying my trusty old truck, when I drive onto the Dealer’s lot, but I gotta admit those new vehicles have a certain sex appeal to them. Ohhh the rich perfume of a new truck and in the dim light, the interior is absolutely seductive, and I get to choose between a demure 4 cylinder, a saucy V6, or a brassy bossy V8 (can you imagine the spanking that one could give!). It’s gonna be a tough choice…I actually don’t need a truck, but I’ve already got the dog and Dobro accessories, and frankly they just don’t make many vehicles that are easy to get in and out of for six-foot-plus guys. I love fast sports cars but I wouldn’t want get in and out of one every day. So it’s probably going to be another truck. What do all you pickup pickers out there suggest?
Keep your instruments tuned, your singing high and lonesome, and your breaks powerful.
See you soon at the Fall Campout. And if you’re nice to me maybe I’ll introduce you to my new truck, and if I get the V8 you might be in for some rosy buttocks.
