Gadgets everywhere and I can’t get one to work

Aug 18, 2023

My electronics and related appliances are giving me fits. My washer / dryer quit and I can’t seem to write anything in Documents on my computer.

My new washer / dryer combo that is to replace the shot washer / dryer that was so neatly installed in a main floor closet, has slightly different placements for electricity, gas, water hoses, drain and dryer exhaust. It takes a lot of figuring and doping out to be able to make the new hook ups.

Neighbors who have volunteered to help me with shoving the new stuff in place and hooking up things are patiently waiting for me to get things adapted and ready.

My computer won’t work for writing in Documents, so I’m resorting to using “Write Mail” for composing anything like a column for the Tribune Chronicle.

I’ve contacted my computer guru, and he can make it to my place tomorrow morning. What seemed incomprehensible to me will most likely be just a simple walk in the park for him.

Meanwhile, while all this is going on, mowing the lawn and general trimming work have fallen behind, and I may just resort to calling my lawn the neighborhood jungle. A family of chipmunks has moved in to a spot under my back steps. Maybe I can charge admission.

I guess the point is, the world of electronics / automated appliances has passed me by. I can’t even use my cellphone properly. After several attempts at learning how to use it, it now sits on a living room table, plugged into the wall to keep it charged. I pay a monthly fee to keep it, but I use my trusty old landline to make and receive my calls.

Once in a while, that cell phone just vibrates itself off of its table

If I ask someone for instructions on how to use my cellphone, they show me, with fingers moving rapidly accompanied by a fusillade of chatter. I just nod as if I knew what they were talking about, and thank them for their time.

I may even be using the wrong terms in describing my frustration.

My dreams takes me back to a simpler time in my life when I was growing up:

The simple old washing machine with its wringer and associated rinsing tubs is just a fading memory. Drying all the family clothes on a clothesline in the back yard or in the cellar during the winter or bad weather was a never-ending Monday morning routine.

It may have been labor intensive, but I never heard of that plain old washer calling it quits.

I guess a rainstorm would be the equivalent of the dryer breaking down.

I still cling to my telephone landline. Even that has changed. There was a time that all I had to do was pick up the phone and wait for the operator to say “Number, please?”

I didn’t even have to fumble with a rotary dial. All I had to do was to remember four numbers and a letter to make my call.

If, when I was a child, I seemed upset or was crying when I attempted to make a call, the operator would ask me what my trouble was, and would even call my dad or mom to tell them of my problem. Now, that was caring and service!

So, now I’m in the midst of trying to get my computer to let me use Documents, doping out the installation of my replacement washer / dryer, and finding time and good weather to mow and trim my lawn. Oh, this modern world!

Hold on — my cellphone is vibrating.

Mumford, of Warren, can be reached at [email protected]

Today's breaking news and more in your inbox

First of all — a very happy 57th birthday to dear sister Verena. May she have many more happy, healthy years. She ...

TRIBUNE CHRONICLE PLANS TO HONOR BREAST CANCER SURVIVORS: The Tribune Chronicle again this year wishes to share ...

Here are upcoming gardening events through the Ohio State University Trumbull County Extension Office. For more ...

100 years ago in 1923:Mesopotamia combined its annual homecoming celebration with the dedication of its splendid ...

1 — Eddie Griffin at Powers Auditorium, Youngstown, at 8 p.m.2 — “A Nod to the Masters” exhibition at ...

SENIOR WATCH: The Liberty Township Senior Watch Program is inviting any Liberty resident 60 and older to an open ...