GPS navigation, cellular phones, Bluetooth technology, what did we ever do before these became common place in our lives? I remember when one could take a road trip for several hundred miles without the thought of a need for any of these things.
The time when you could drive your car or RV all day or cruise the aisles of a grocery store without the need to have a cell phone constantly stuck to your head. Paper maps or map books guided us throughout the country without issue. We didn’t need any robotic sounding female voice constantly chanting directions as we made our way across the country.
Don’t get me wrong, these modern marvels are great to have, but as a luxury, not a necessity. I have GPS navigation in all my vehicles. I travel with On-Star, a Blackberry, a cellular phone and an air card. Each has their own unique telephone number including a separate data number and a separate fax number. That’s a total of six phone numbers for one vehicle. Remember party-lines, they were one number per two houses. How things have changed. In addition to the more complex world of wireless products are the inevitable monthly costs. There are countless plans available with add-ons, features and ala carte on the side. Five hundred minutes per month, evening and weekends unlimited (Capped at 1000 minutes) from 8:07 PM to 6:04 AM week days. Free calling on the third Thursday of the month during a full moon providing your birthday falls within the 18 days either side and Thursday’s date is an even number. (Additional restrictions may apply) Hmmmm ………………………..Think I will just use it and hope for the best. Later on I get my first bill. It looks equally confusing, but wait, roaming charges? What are roaming charges? Well, apparently if you roam out of your home area, roaming charges may apply. But I bought the phone so that I could roam the countryside in my RV. If I stayed home I don’t need it, I have a phone already there. Oh well, I guess I’ve got to live with it.
Now, Bluetooth technology, you just got to have one of those. It makes phones hands free either using a headset or you can turn your entire vehicle into a hands free device. Oh yes, this changes listening to the mother-in-law with the handset at your ear, of course with the ability to move it away on occasion, to something else. Instead you can hear her familiar smiling voice booming out of your stereo speakers. Spare me, please.
So now let’s look at the GPS. The problem is, if you rely totally on it, you will be at the mercy of Nagging Norma. “Make a U-turn if possible” is her standard phrase when ever she has lost her bearings, and believe me, she does on occasion.
What about young people today? With nearly ever vehicle either coming equipped with GPS navigation or added to it, do they even know how to get from A to B without one? Is it like the manual transmission that few young people have ever driven, or ever will for that matter? Or math without a calculator? Yikes!
It just seems life was simpler in the past, not necessarily better, just simpler.
