Modern primitive grandparents.

My parents are reluctant adopters of new technology.  I got my mom a cordless phone for her birthday in about 1992 when they were becoming a common thing.  She was insistent that she neither needed nor wanted it.  After about a week she called me:  "Well you won't believe what I'm doing!"  What might that be, mom?  "I'm weeding the garden and talking to you!"  She was positively gleeful.  She values efficiency and likes multi tasking (Virgo!).  I knew she would love it. Of course she still has that same phone, even though it is huge and clunky.  It falls off the cradle if you happen to brush past it on your way out of the kitchen.  It was not very well designed.  But it still works, and God forbid she upgrade.

The computer was similar.  They got one when my mom started doing my dad's bookkeeping.  And they felt they had to get to know this internet/email thing before they kicked the bucket.  Now if you're visiting them and my mom disappears, she's probably playing computer solitaire, or checking the weather in Michigan where she summered as a child, or sending on a mass email to everyone on her list ("Well I thought it was just hilarious.").  We may have a little intervention.

She has yet to start a blog or discover facebook, but it could happen.  She should start a blog:  then she could refute me--and promote her artistic endeavors.  Are you reading this, Mom? Here's one of her paintings:

This one is called String Trio,  It's at the Rental Sales Gallery at the Portland Art Museum.  She's a Pro.  And i'm proud of her. Don't let her self-deprecating "It's just a hobby" attitude fool you.  Next time I'll plug my sister--she's a genius.

I don't even want to talk about her talking/driving habits.  At least she doesn't know how to text.

Last time they came to spend the day with us, they spent quite a bit of time passing one of our IPhones back and forth:  "Look at this!"  "Would you look at that." "Now how does that work?"  In an earlier era, I think they would have gladly signed over their all holdings and grandchildren in exchange.  No wonder beads and bits of copper bought the Dutch the island of Manhattan.