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We’ve come a long way from the start of television to hand-held calculators, from video tape to DVDs, from party lines to cell phones, from typewriters to personal computers, from road maps to GPS and so much more.  It’s hard to believe these advances all took place in our lifetime.  In the early days, we looked at each breakthrough as something that would make our lives easier and, therefore, better.  But along the way, most of the folks from our generation let high-tech get ahead of us.

Were you one of those like me who had help at work (you know, an assistant of some sort, an accounting department, a research staff that kind of help)?  When I started in business, I did some of the heavy lifting these people do everyday.  As I advanced, more resources were available.  Along the way, I started my own company and had to get my hands dirty for a while – it was a good feeling and allowed me to get immersed  in the projects.  But once the business grew, I reverted to my old ways of letting someone else attend to the details, which I continued doing until retirement.

Selling my share of the company left me totally on my own.  I had no choice but to learn about the technology I took for granted and totally ignored during my final years in the business world.  The company had all the latest hi-tech stuff.  I even had a computer on my desk, but rarely turned it on.  And, when I did I needed help for fear of erasing any messages someone might send.  Towards the end, however, I did master the email function pretty well.

After a few of months of decompressing from over 45 years in the ad agency business, I starting working on the novel I had been ruminating about for years.  This got me to using the Internet for research and Word for the document.  With two novels completed, both yet to be published, I started investigating social networks.  This led me to developing the Pre-boomer Musing site and later the launch of the New Seniors online magazine.  I also surf the Net use Twitter and Facebook as well as visit YouTube for my work as well as for pure enjoyment. 

These efforts sped up my learning curve.  Nonetheless, I still consider myself technically challenged, but I see continual improvement.  The mere fact that you are reading this article online indicates you have mastered the fundamentals of the computer.  There are so many opportunities to learn about hobbies, develop new interests, connect with like minded people and expand your group of friends.  Please share how you are putting technology to work to make the retirement years richer and more enjoyable so others visiting this site might gain from your experience.  

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This was not an accident.  America was always exceptional.  From the time the early settlers arrived on our shores through the colonists’ fight for freedom to the war on slavery and our joining in WWI, the citizens believed in doing what is right rather than what is easy.  If others suffered, we suffered with them and tried to right the wrong, without regard for what dissenters might think or say. 

The same kind of attitude prevailed in our nation’s businesses, both large and small.  A good idea became a great idea when people got excited and applied American ingenuity and old-fashioned hard work to make the dream come true.  Our generation saw the advent of frozen food including pizza, television followed by TV dinners, jet travel, fast food restaurants, a man on the moon spawned Tang in several flavors as well as satellites, copying and answering machines, pagers, cell phones, personal computers and all the hi-tech gear that followed, plus much more.

Most of these inventions changed our lives forever and continue to prompt change as they inspire an ongoing flood of new and improved products vying for the consumer’s attention – many of which will make our quality of life somewhat better, and all of them are designed to make money for the individuals and companies involved in bringing these products to the marketplace, here and around the world.  America has always provided an atmosphere for creativity and we have shown the world how to market goods and services.  So, while there’s cheap labor available in other parts of the world, we are the ones with the ideas, build the initial products and provide the marketing capabilities to establish brands worldwide.

Because America creates what others eventually copy, we must continue to innovate in areas such as energy, food and pharmaceuticals for the world.  The need to innovate applies to more than business ventures.  Our educational system is in great need of help.  Just as we test market products, it is vital to try then perfect new ways to better educate our children and prepare them for the changing world they will face.  America’s health care system needs to be studied and revamped to attend the needs of the aging citizens and to make it affordable to our younger population.

America’s exceptionalism will be challenged in the years ahead.  We must not let this happen from within.  Instead, we have to view the problems facing us lemons and make some lemonade.  That’s the American way.

Image by Wim Mulder via Flickr

Letter writing was a process.  We selected a fine-quality stationery to carry the message and picked the right pen — a fountain pen, the kind we filled from an ink bottle.  Often we wrote draft of the letter to be sure it was thoughtful and not rambling.  Our best penmanship was a must, and we always read the letter before posting it.  That’s how we pre-boomers were taught.  The way we go about communicating today bears little resemblance to this dying tradition. 

Communications capabilities resulting from technology have replaced letter writing for the most part.  As soon as we receive an electronic message of any sort, we hasten to provide a quick response.  Usually no one has asked for an immediate reply, but our culture is so accustomed to instant gratification that we feel compiled to do so.  Writing is only one of the communications tools that have become a faster-than-the-speed-of-light phenomenon.  All forms of transmitting and receiving thoughts, ideas and instructions have suffered from the “fast is better” attitude, a trap into which we have all fallen.

The idea of being on call 24 hours a day, seven days a week is the curse of the computer age.  It started with beepers, then cell phones and now its BlackBerrys and iPhones; all of which are networked with our desktop and laptop computers.  We could turn off these “conveniences” but are afraid someone won’t be able to get through to us or maybe we’ll miss something.  Are we that important?  Is what they have to say that earthshaking?  Could all of us benefit from a little downtime so we can think instead of react?

Gone are the days when a letter took several days to deliver and the recipient read it and considered it before writing back.  This process took ten days or more.  Of course, if a fast reply was in order, one could always call.  However, business calls were restricted to office hours and personal calls were made at the appropriate times as well.  Now, we try people on their cells, leave text messages and back these up with emails.  The sense of urgency is so instilled in us that we have lost all subtlety in the way we present the message, no matter which mode of communications we use.

Drama, sweetness, sincerity, expression and gentle persuasion have given way to punchy statements, abbreviations, poor grammar, even poorer spelling and a lack of sensitivity in current day communications.  Instant photos or streaming videos with sound captured on a cell phone and sent to everyone we know have a place in society.  But all to often, these mini-messages water down our ability to build relationships and nourish them by painting pictures with our words through a personal one-on-one letter that means something to the person who sends it as well as the person who receives it.  Imagine texting someone a love letter.  How romantic.       

Pre-boomers are affected more by noise, not targeted more, because we remember the easier, simpler and quieter era.  Since our generation is out and about more than other retirees, we get to see and hear what’s going on in our country today.

Think about what you’ve been exposed to lately.  Stand in line at the supermarket, the bank, or the check-in counter at the airport and you hear one end of cell phone conversations emanating from several people who all seem to talk above normal conversation levels.  Most of the time these calls are frivolous, and those engaged in such inconsiderate practices do so to pass the time instead of being alone with their own thoughts.

Another annoyance, small but consistent, is the sound level of television commercials.  When listening to your favorite show, have you noticed how much louder the commercial spots sound compared to the program?  It’s not every spot, but this occurs often enough to make it a problem.

Even on vacation noise is a factor.  Relaxing by the pool, on board ship or at a resort, we are confronted by less-than-relaxing music blaring through loudspeakers usually located just above the chaise lounge.  The music playing is most likely selected by someone under twenty-five.  Of course, during the summer of ’56 older folks had similar complaints about all the portable radios at the local beaches playing Elvis Presley’s latest hit, “Hound Dog.”

At the risk of sounding like an old fogy, I’d like to see restrictions on the use of cell phones in public places.  It worked for smoking, so we ought to be able to limit where these devices can be used.  Are you ready to start circulating a petition and launch this movement?  We certainly can contact the TV stations or the cable company about keeping the sound levels balanced for programs and commercials.  And ask the cruise ships and resorts you visit to consider your need for peace and relaxation; after all, you’re an important source of their income.

We may not be able to put an end to all unnecessary noise, but pre-boomers have a loud enough voice to be heard.