It's funny how we get by without an appliance or electronics gadget just fine until we get one. All of a sudden that item is a necessity and we can't live without it; not only that, we don't know how we ever lived without it.
Take microwave ovens for instance; we didn't have one when I was a kid but now we have to have one. If the one we have quits working were out the next day replacing it. When my sons moved out we made sure they had a microwave because they couldn't live without one either.
The same thing with cell phones, computers, remote controls, video games, etc. You get the idea.
I'm sure our grandparents thought the same thing when the telephone came along.
My great-grandmother had a party line in her little town where she lived and she would sit for hours listening in on other peoples conversations. That was her entertainment, well that and her stories which was the same thing.
I never will forget the day the telephone company changed them all to single phone lines. She was madder than an old wet hen. She called my grandmother long distance and ranted and raved about them taking away her party line. It never occured to her that maybe the other ladies might want a private conversation without someone listening in. Just goes to show you that what one person sees as a disadvantage another might see as an asset.
I digressed there a little bit with my granny story but I thought y'all would get a kick out of it.
Cars are another item we didn't need a few decades ago but now we not only have one but everyone over the age of 16 in our homes has one. Teenagers think they're mistreated and neglected if they don't have one and in my town not just any old clunker will do. Many of them drive vehicles better than their parents and they don't even have jobs.
So do yourselves a favour; the next time a new gadget comes out that the media tells you we just have to have, DON'T BUY IT. Save yourself. If we never own one we won't become a slave to it. It's too late for the microwaves, cell phones and remote controls but we can set our foot down to the next do-hickey and thing-a-majig.
