Pink Umby Records Table Of Contents AUTHORS Poetry Short Stories The Old Cowboy Cowboy Poetry The Kids Corner Other Websites
 
Welcome To Author Bernice Root's Short Story.
Almost Spring   MY STORY

My Story
Author Bernice Root
© Copyright 2000

MY STORY
Bernice Root

I am usually a creature of habit, well, up to a point. When I find something that works for me, I am reluctant to change.  When I was school nurse and they were giving us electric typewriters as a perk, I refused for two years. I couldn't see anything wrong with my trusty manual typewriter. Finally, I reluctantly agreed. Have to say it was really nice after I learned to stop making lines of ssssssssssssss or eeeeeeeeeee or whatever I had my finger on. Lost count of how many times I swatted the air trying to hit the carriage return. Now, tell me how I became so involved with computers.

I was really intimidated by the fact all young kids were so computer literate and I was almost too dumb, or scared, to turn one on. Finally my son gave me one of his old Vic20's and helped me learn a little but I didn't absorb much. I think this was the one that had cassettes so I could play a few games. I graduated to a Commodore 64-and a little yellow book that was printed for kids. Learned a little more. To open the word processor, I had to click on a busy little bee. Then I got one of his extra 128's. Then I learned enough to help him copy microfilm material from the old Cedar County  newspapers. Never did learn how to double space and a number of other things.  How do you indent for a paragraph? Five clicks on the space bar was my way. How did I double space? Two clicks on the return key. I found out later that wasn't such a good idea. Then he let me have a laptop he wasn't using. I read and read and none of it made much sense. I did try a lot of things though and lost a bunch of things I was trying to  save, but it primed me to want to know more. I still don't know why computer terms seem totally backward to me. I thought default was not a good thing and now it is a very good thing.

When I got the laptop, Bob thought I would spend my time playing solitaire and writing letters and stories. I found that my first challenge. My second challenge was wanting to know just how everything worked. The third was wanting to show my son I was not too old to learn something new.

The laptop began to have troubles, so I bought a used computer, a printer and about six months after that I bought a scanner. Have I had fun and trouble but a whole new world had opened for me. I picked up anything I could from anyone who would talk to me. I learned to do several things but had no idea how to explain what I was doing. I didn't even know how to ask questions. I had my own computer language. I typed and filed instead of "saving". I didn't know which bar was tool, task etc. I was expected to send a story I was writing in Rich Text and I had no idea what that was. Terry Roberts taught the first class I took with ICON and I found Rich Text. But I get ahead of myself and need to go back a bit.

In October, l999 my son was home and took me to an ICON meeting. He wanted me to learn the correct terminology for the few things I was already doing. I joined, afraid all I would be able to do was profit from the Newsletter because I wasn't driving much at that time. As fate would have it, a cousin was having much the same type computer problems I was having and she started driving me. She joined ICON and we have only missed one meeting since. We've taken Terry and Charles Roberts' classes (twice) and learned a great deal. The SIG meetings are very informative and fun. You ICON people are so kind, and understanding and above all--you have so much patience. 

I still need help. Can anyone teach me how to program my VCR!!!

Almost Spring   MY STORY

Thank You,    webmaster@pinkumbyrecords.com
Copyright © 2024 since 2000. Pink Umby Records All Rights Reserved.

Authors and Others     Home - Pink Umby Records