It’s strange when you realize that you have gone from being on the cutting edge to be a dinosaur. I used to listen to all the new music, go to concerts whenever I could. I had an amazing album collection( then 8 tracks and then CDs). At some point in the 80’s life got in the way and music wasn’t that important to me. (Of course, that’s not true to today – some days music is what keeps me sane.) The same thing happened with technology.

Close-up of Man Pointing at the Screen of a Oscilloscope
Computer server in data center room
macro photography of black circuit board
floppy disks, memory, computer
reel-to-reel, tape, vintage

When my son was born, I went back to school and got my degree in electronics. I focused on hardware but could still do simple programing in FORTRAN and COBOL. By 1983, I was working in Memphis for a Fortune 500 computer computer company as a field engineer. Computers were bulky, often kept in dedicated air conditioned rooms. I carried around an oscilloscope, volt meter and soldering iron in my tool bag. I don’t know if it was just in the south or if it was everywhere, but being accepted in that world was not easy. I had accounts that wouldn’t let me work on their computers unless it was pay day or some deadline that they had to meet. Even then, some of the managers/owners would leave so they didn’t have to acknowledge the fact that I could do my job. Training for the company was done on a campus in Connecticut; there were usually 100+ men and 3 or 4 women. When my husband got orders to the base in Kaneohe, I wasn’t able to stay with the company. When I left, everything was rapidly changing in the computer world. By the time we returned to the mainland three years later technology had passed me by.

Maybe because I hated wearing a pager and being called in to work at all hours, I had no desire to ever own a cell phone. I was probably one of last people on earth to get one. I ended up loving that indestructible little flip phone. It took a long time to upgrade to a smart phone. I struggle with simple things on the computer now and am sure I’m not making full use of my phone. Luckily I have good friends and family who will help me out when I need something new! May you always have someone to bring you out of the dark ages!