The things you learn from your children along the way of life are amazing.
To understand where I'm coming from, you must understand that I grew up in the generation of slide rules, mimeograph machines and $100 Texas Instruments calculators. That's when those calculators were kept in a locked glass case behind the counter because they were so new and popular.
So here I am in 2011 totally at the mercy of my children. I am constantly grateful for having had the smarts to be fair to my children growing up while still being sure to be their dad.
Now that they have reached their teenage years and beyond, payback time has come earlier than I expected. These days my children have to teach and, unfortunately, re-teach us how to navigate the ever-changing world of technology we live in.
To be honest, I rarely fully understand all the technological jargon they use but I sure love the results.
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So while I was planning this year's road trip, with my son and my brother-in-law, I got to go to the next level in "technology as a second language."
This time I decided to try and sit down at the computer and navigate solely on the technological highway.
I was able to restrict my old habits, which included a yellow legal pad, to just one sheet of paper. That pad has been my trusted multipurpose writing friend since the days of only three major TV channels.
This time there would be no "old school." Gone were the phone, fax, legal pads and phone books. It was just me and the information highway on my computer screen.
As my children have taught me well, I am now able to navigate the Internet with purpose. I am comfortable getting to the sites that my children have found to be cool and efficient. It's easy because they conveniently bookmarked those sites on my computer, so a couple of clicks and I look almost like a native in the new technological world.
However, the ultimate leap of faith was still to come. This year, I decided to go cold turkey. To plan our trip I did not use one map or tour book. Internet only!
Then, I gathered my courage and made a hyper leap - no paper or home-computer maps at all!! This trip would be navigated with just an iPhone and an app.
Wow - this would be a whole new level of travel for me.
The lesson I've learned is be nice to your children, because one day they may be not only telling you where to go, but teaching you how to go there!
Enjoy the journey,
Bob
E-mail Bob Oro at northwest@azstarnet.com
