Fleeting Skills

Don't you just love technology? I mean, I can write this blog for anyone and everyone to read! It wasn't that long ago that to have someone read your words, you had to go through a publisher, which, by the way, is still the smartest way to do it. But blogs, social networks, tweets, and texting has made us all so much more connected with one another.

But, I have to say, the new preferred way of communicating, texting, seems to be beyond my ability to master. Oh, don't get me wrong, I can do it, but I can't do it with finesse. Take the other day, for instance . . .

I decided it would be nice to have breakfast at The Broke Yolk Grill, but Old Man was working and I didn't want to go by myself, so I texted a young friend who I thought might be awake early on a Saturday morning. But, I wasn't sure. That is the beauty of text messages. I could text a message to her. If she were awake, she would respond, if not, it wouldn't wake her.

My texts, by necessity, must be short. By the time I get "Would you like to have breakfast with me at the Broke Yolk Grill?" typed into my phone, it would be time for dinner. So, I type, "Breakfast?" - which took 3 minutes to peck out. In less then a minute, my friend had responded with, "Yes!! I was just getting up and I'm ravished! Where would you like to eat? :))" I just stared at my screen. How in the world, I wondered did she type that in so quickly?

I brought my phone into some good light so I could see the keyboard and pecked out, "The Broke Yolk Grill", except that I actually typed, "The Brike Yolk Grill", which took about 5 minutes. Now, I'm not a perfectionist, but I hate to see typos in things I write. So, I backed up to the Brike, deleted the 'i' and entered an 'o', taking another 2 minutes. I know my friend probably thought I had fallen asleep. I received an answer to this text as soon as I pressed the 'send' button, or so it seemed. "The Broke Yolk Grill? Wouldn't it be healthier to have breakfast at Smoothie Heaven? But, you choose." I stared at the screen. How does she do that??

I took my phone back to the good light so I could see the keys and began to type, "Smoothie Heav" . . . I stopped, cleared the screen, brought up my friend's phone number, and dialed. When she answered, I carried on the conversation.

My daughter thought she had the answer for me. She was very excited when she discovered that her new phone had a QWERTY keyboard. Just what I needed, she told me, to get me into the texting world. But, I argued, I need all ten fingers for the keyboard. "Oh, just figure it out, Mother!" Gosh, I didn't realize grown daughters could be so haughty. I wonder where she gets that from?

I sat down on the couch, put her phone with the keyboard showing, on my lap. I placed my right foot slightly ahead of my left, just as my typing teacher taught, my fingers squeezed together onto the 3 by 5 inch space . . .