Out with the old? Not so fast!

I have recently received the same email from a number of friends and relatives, and feel the urge to respond with some thoughts of my own. The message was all about the things in our lives that we currently take for granted, and how they were most likely to become obsolete and even extinct. I can't say that I agree with all of the items on the list, though I do understand that the term "endangered species" might apply.

First of all is the Post Office. I understand that email has taken over the hand written letter. I still really like getting hand written letters. I get nice thank-you notes, formal invitations to events, and updates from friends and organizations I support. The post office is also the best and cheapest delivery form for packages. They cost about a third of what UPS charges to send stuff overseas, and their local delivery is much less expensive than the competition. I do hate the level of junk mail I regularly receive, but the recycled paper industry is doing well as a result. I see this cutting back, but not disappearing entirely.

Next is the check. Again, I do admit that I do 98% of my banking and bill paying online. However, when the local landscaper delivers a truckload of mulch to my back yard, I don't think she'd appreciate waiting for me to drive to the bank and get out enough cash to pay her. When my car gets fixed, it gets done extremely well by a local mechanic, who prefers not to accept credit cards. Again, he really appreciates that I can write him a check before he gives me back my car. And I really appreciate that I don't have to pay the 21% interest rate on a credit balance.

Third on the list is the newspaper. Have you read a newspaper online? It is a royal pain, the advertising gets in the way, and it is very hard to flip to the page with the article you were looking for. Until they get the interface right, I prefer my newspapers tossed on my lawn. They are also cheaper that way.

The book is going to disappear? Not likely. I do have a kindle, and I think it is terrific for reading books (primarily fiction) that I want to get through quickly and comfortably. However, my very favorite books are of art museum collections,  Amish quilts, instructions in watercolors or Chinese brush painting, photographers displays, oil painting techniques, drawing workbooks, colored pencil illustrations, etc. There is no way these could be translated into screen-appropriate material, at least not without a considerable loss in color, context, or readers' joy.

The land-line telephone. I know lots of folks who do not have a land-line installed in their apartments. If it works for them, that's fine. It does not work for me. I live in an old neighborhood full of huge trees. These trees have a disturbing tendency to drop their limbs on electric lines. When we do not have power, and I have forgotten that my phone needs charging, I am up the proverbial creek. There have been times when our power has been out for two or more days. Use of the cell phone is those situations is great, but only until the charge runs out. Even the land-line portable phones don't work in those circumstances, so I am glad that on each floor we have a plugged into the wall, corded phone.

How anyone can think that music is going to disappear is beyond me. If all one listens to is the current pop fare (yuck!), maybe they would welcome the disappearance, but most of my friends and I prefer things like modern classical, jazz, esoteric rock, and other items that are continually growing and changing. Live music beats the daylights out of recordings, and if you look for really good music, you will find it thriving everywhere.  If all you care to listen to is top 40, sorry!

As for the next item on the list, television, I have to assume this was written by someone who watches sitcoms and reality shows. When they go away, I will be celebrating. Well, okay, I do like "Big Bang Theory" and "So You Think You Can Dance", and am borderline addicted to "Project Runway." Notice that only one of those runs on one of the three major networks. Again I am far more likely to delve into cable fare, and I like to curl up on the sofa and watch, not on my computer screen, but on my TV. I like pay-per-view movies and the almost unlimited choices I have through my provider, and I do not want to watch anything on my cell phone!!!!

Possessions are the next to last expected to disappear. The loss of possessions listed in the email is almost exclusively in reference to computer gadgets, and I know people who love computer gadgets so much that they have way more than a reasonable share of possessions, just in that category. As for other things, we will still want kitchen appliances, furniture, art, clothing, air conditioners, candles, fuzzy towels and the occasional teddy bear. So much for possessions.

Finally the email bemoans the disappearance of personal privacy. As if this comes as a surprise to anyone. If you think you have privacy to lose, Google yourself. Also, I happen to live in a small town, where everybody knows everybody and watches out for them. Yeah, this is a loss of privacy, but I like knowing that if I have an emergency, there are 12 people ready to jump in and help. I don't know if I have ever had total privacy, nor that I would want it. People who are my friends like all of me, including the warts. Privacy may really mean loneliness.

Maybe I am just revealing my age, but I truly think things like books, music, newspapers and letters have a certain value that keeps them alive, even if it is in a small minority of the community. I am pleased if I am considered to be a part of that minority, and will continue my outdated habits that happily keep me there.