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Tag: communication

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I don’t know how to text on a cell phone because I refuse to learn.  Typing with two thumbs just doesn’t appeal to me.  But it is my choice, and to me, I have not lost out on anything.

It’s not the same if you want to publish a book and don’t know how the internet works.  If you don’t have Paypal, if you don’t have an online bank account, you definitely have a disadvantage.  All books need an online presence.  Sadly, those who refuse to learn or not capable of learning the way of the Web will be left behind.

I can clearly remember the excitement of hearing the first ring of a telephone and the first black and white TV my father brought home.  How during my lifetime communication has evolved and keep on evolving.  At some point I’ll stop catching up, I’m sure, and watch the world moves away from me.

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The Sentinel

Old Woman and the Toad by Judy Somerville

My father’s neighbor Mr. Wong passed away recently.  It was a quiet affair, as he was old and had been sick for a long time.   I visited the Wongs briefly last year, to invite them to my father’s birthday party.  He and his wife were cordial, said they could not go outside by themselves, not even next door.

Mrs. Wong used to be quite a beauty.  She had some Spanish features on her face–big eyes and a tall nose.  Since their confinement she wore a knitted cap to cover her grey hair and all her teeth were gone.  Every time I pulled the car into my father’s driveway she pulled aside  the curtain and waved at me.  In fact, the once silky white curtain was dirty and torn where she pulled every time she saw a familiar face. That was her communication with the world.

The house has been dark since the death of Mr. Wong, and the curtain stayed still.  She may have abandoned her post out of loneliness without realizing that she had been lonely.

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