Helping my crazy parents out with our home construction…

My mom Laura and I were recently watching the TV show: 101 Gadgets That Changed The World, when it suddenly struck both of us at once that there are a few of these supposed “top gadgets” that have changed the world in a very BAD WAY!

We can go either way on most gadgets. Like a picnic ice chest, what’s not to like about an ice chest except that they are far too heavy to carry sometimes when you drink too much beer, and they never hold enough dog treats!

What’s not to like about a blender, I mean really…

But there are a few supposed improvements in modern life that have simply made life worse. The number one gadget in this list is the Mobile/SmartPhone.

It all started with the Blackberry, introduced in 1999; by 2009 50 million of these devices had been sold. Originating in Finland and Japan in the 1970s, mobile phones have fast become the most widely used gadget in the world. Today over 75% of the world’s population use them. However, that does not include me.

I have witnessed far too many people who have become slaves to their phones. Some even ignore the person (or dog!) in front of them, and just play with their phone non-stop. People can be so stupid sometimes!

Me, I’ve never used a phone so I just don’t get it. I prefer the up-close and personal approach, like jumping in the car with whomever appears in my driveway. Yes, that does include the UPS man.

I think number two, the radio is OK, but I’m not so sure about number three, the television. It seems to me it just gives everybody a great excuse to veg-out. People can be so lazy! Some can even sleep as much as I do, and that’s too much!

One thing I really don’t like is number five, the personal computer. My mom spends far too much time on hers. She sometimes won’t even let me sit on her lap while she’s typing. Totally a BAD IDEA! Anything that takes her undivided attention away from me stinks!

I’m a newcomer to rural southern Colorado.  After two years I decided to compile a short journal about the ups and downs of moving from a good-sized city to rural America to build a passive solar retirement home in the foothills:                                     A Memoir of Retirement: From Suburbia to Solar in Southern Colorado

Please share this information with your friends if they are considering similar life changes. Feel free to contact me directly to discuss any of these challenges, and to order your own signed copies of any of my books!  Cheers, Laura Lee  (email me: MidlifeCrisisQueen@gmail.com)