Before internet

I remember going to the library (where I haven't been for a couple of years) to look up all kinds of information. Using a dictionary to look up words and a phone book for a telephone number. (they're both collecting dust now) I would wait until I got home to find out any kind of news or get a hold of someone and let them know I hit a great sale somewhere. (now I can read the news on my phone that has the internet on it and I can text someone and let them know about a great sale) I used to sit and map out a road trip with highlighters and write all the directions out, now I get directions without having to fold a map (which took a little while to figure out how to re-fold) and can either print them out ahead of time or rely on my GPS which gets me lost in a big city and I wish that I would have printed out directions or had a map with me. While there are so many conveniences and easy ways to do things, I feel kind of bad for the younger generations that have no idea how to use a phone book, dictionary, encyclopedia, find a book in a library or how to use a map if they ever need to.

I used the library a lot. For me, I was introduced to the Internet indirectly in 1981 by this guy I tutored in statistics. His father was a computer scientist and one day he gave me a code to dial on my telephone. He told me I could call anywhere in the world with that code and I wouldn't have to pay a dime. I used it one time, then stopped because I didn't feel right doing it.

I remember a time before the internet and cell phones. My kids would call home and let me know where they were all the time. It was a much better time in a lot of ways. It wasn't easy to get all the garbage that you can get any where now. If you needed to know something you would go to your local library and actually read a book. There are some things that I liek about the internet, like extra cash, but I long for the simpler days.