Woes

This topic will sound old. But it isn’t. It is new. Every time it happens, it is new. Sometimes that is daily, maybe weekly. Often it is more than daily. What is this woe? Well, take a deep breath. It’s rapidly changing technology.

This week, I routinely began to post my blog. But the Word document carefully written days before, was not retrievable. I could not find it. Anywhere. I looked for another document to fill the space but couldn’t find the next prepared post item. It too, was not available for retrieval.

I scratched my head and spent hours searching through my technology platforms. Nothing arose to solve the problem. I stewed about the situation for a few more hours then told my good friend Pam what had happened. That evening, before supper, she noodled through my computer system and came up with a solution. She found and retrieved the missing documents and saved them to a place I could easily access. I did so this morning and posted my Monday blog one day late.

As I slept with this problem through the night, I realized the issue was not solved. It was a recurring problem that would visit me many times in the future. Why this is so, is a feature of the problem itself.

I am 82. I’ve grown up with technology from its inception. An early adopter and teacher to my kids, I’ve made personal computing a part of my private life and also my career. The problems that followed probably happened because I’m focused on content, not system. I memorize system without understanding it. I use it as a tool to manage the content I hold dear.

The problems flow from that elemental reality. Technology changes; often with great speed. Hiccups flow quickly from the changes. I interrupt routines to catch up with software changes. Hardware changes are more difficult but managed just the same. But the intervals spent doing these acts are soon forgotten as I continue to focus on contents.

I know this circumstance affects each of us, all of us. But elders face the problem more often and with much more downside. We solve such problems slowly and with much more time than more youthful people. Afterall, my granddaughters are not available 24/7 to straighten out my system issues.

Our tasks living with technology loom large in our daily confrontation with the world. They seem insurmountable at times. And they are. Until someone helps us. Or until a lonely thought in the middle of the night suggests a solution. In the morning those thoughts usually do provide the fix. At least for a time; a very short time.

So, the woes of life for elders are often our daily encounters with technology. Please know this and respect our confusion and addled stares.

October 3, 2025


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