Have you ever had to call "Tech Support" for anything ? TV, Cell Phone, Computer . . . Or maybe you are trying to put together a piece of furniture, or setting up a new fridge, washer or dryer. The directions are just impossible to understand so you give in and call "Tech Support". Once you have stated your problem the voice on the other end of the phone reassures you this is not a problem. They then follow that reassurance with the words, "You SIMPLY have to . . ." And this is where I loose it. I am still back at trying to plug the machine in or just opening the package and they are twenty steps ahead of me.
I remember way back when we got our first computer. Our children and grand children will never appreciate what we had to go through to use a computer. Plug in the screen, plug in the modem, put in a code for the screen, put in a code for the modem. And I am not talking about a simple 4 digit code. NO, those computers required entering a seven hundred and thirty five numbers, upper case letters, lower case letters and if you didn't get it exactly right you had to start all over again. Then you had to wait about six hours for it all to process through before the computer actually turned on. There was no Tech Support back in those days so you had to read the manual if you had one or call your best friend and hope they knew what to do. I remember trying to get Husband to use the computer and he would get crazy when I was showing him something. I would say, "It's simple! You just do . . . " and he would get upset and frustrated because I was going too fast. Now I understand !!
Now a days we just open the lap top and BAM ! ready to go. Until you get to the web site you're looking for and can't get it figured out. (See my previous blog). When you finally get frustrated enough to call for help they always start with . . . "Oh, it's simple!" And how about those times when us dinosaurs are trying to do something new on our cell phones. Who do you go to? Your grand kids of course. They know EVERYTHING about our modern technology. You ask them how to do something and they say, "OH, it's simple!"
With all this "It's simple" stuff going around I want to know why The Man can not do anything the easy or simple way. EVERYTHING is a production. To be honest I don't think I have ever met a man who sees the direct line from A to B. They always have to immediately go to Red Alert to do anything. Case in point . . . The Man has a lawn mower that is probably 20 years old. I think it has NEVER had a new battery because EVERY day when The Man goes out to ride his mower he has to charge the battery to get it started. Sometimes it will hold the charge for a day but if it is let sitting for more then 36 hours it needs charging. Today I asked The Man why he doesn't just get a new battery. He looked at me as if I had lost my mind. His answer was, "Why would I get a new battery? This one works fine." I know I should have just shut up right then, why I even spoke in the first place I don't know, but I kept going. I mentioned that he has to keep charging this battery every time he wants to use the mower, wouldn't it be easier to just get a new battery and then it would start right up so he can get going without waiting 3 hours for the old battery to charge. His response, "NO, All "I" have to do is hook it up to the charger".
Let me stop here and give you the step by step process . . . I have to go down stairs, get the charger, (because he can't reach the basement on his oxygen hose), bring it out side, find the extension cord from where ever he has left it, plug that in inside the house and run the wire out to his mower where he is sitting waiting. He then has the difficult task of connecting the power cord to the charger and the charger to the mower. Now he has to wait at least 2 hours for the mower to charge. So he goes in to take a nap after that exhausting work. I ask you . . . wouldn't it be simpler to buy a new freaking battery ???? Or maybe I am missing something here. . . could he possibly be using this as a ploy to take a nap ??
My favorite story of men not being able to see the simple solution was the time my uncle and father were trying to figure out how to hang a large mirror for Husband and I. I have told this story before but it is such a perfect example. My dad and uncle had out paper and pencils, drawing sketches of where to add the extra beams to support this mirror. I called a handy man and he put 2 hooks into the wall beams, lifted the mirror and with in minutes the job was done. I guess that is why some people become handy men while others remain "thinkers".
A side note to all this is about our new cars. I LOVE my new car. Love the keyless entry. Just push a button and off I go. EXCEPT . . . there are so many other features that I have yet to figure out. The manual for my car is as thick as Websters Dictionary, (a reference that I am sure no one under the age of 60 will understand.). I have yet to sit down to read the darn thing so I have no idea what this car can do.
What ever it is I am sure "It's Simple"
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