Plans are being laid for celebration of my mother’s 83rd birthday, plans which will include a multi-course dinner at a five-star eatery and conferring lavish gifts of modern technology.
Actually, we’re going Zaxby’s and she’s getting a smartphone. Now, before you criticize me for not taking my mom out of town to some fancy, smancy restaurant, let me point out McMinnville’s newest chicken place was her selection. That’s the rule when it comes to birthdays in the Sherrill family. You get to select your own restaurant. Generally, that entails an out-of-town trip but in her case, she’s never eaten at Zaxby’s so this is the brave new world when it comes to dining. No pressure Zaxby’s. My mom has just picked you for her 83rd birthday lunch this Sunday over every other restaurant in the world.
With her decision firmly made when it comes to birthday dining, my next question was what she wanted for her birthday.
“I want one of those smartphones,” she declared. “One that you can text on.”
This comes from a woman who has carried a Jitterbug for years. The little clamshell phone was rarely used except in cases of emergency. By emergency I mean when she was through shopping at Ross in Murfreesboro and was ready to be picked up. The issue about the old cellphone was that there was no texting with it and every call was 35 cents a minute. A person could go broke pretty fast carrying on a conversation on that thing.
Her decision to enter the modern world of cellular technology comes years after she discovered the internet. Mom has had a Facebook page for several years, a page she rarely checks that has scores of pending friend requests. She has also had an email address for years, an email address she also rarely checks as evidenced by the 2,500 unread emails she purged just last week – a painstakingly slow 50 at a time.
While it may seem she has been slow in the area of technology, I have to admit she does more business online in a month than I’ve done in a lifetime. She’s figured out the internet is the place to shop. Your feet don’t get tired and your back doesn’t hurt afterwards.
It was with great delight she learned from me that with a smartphone and normal data package you get internet access.
“That’s right, in the palm of your hand, mom, you get the internet,” I told her.
This came as a pleasant surprise since her internet at home is slllloooowwww. I don’t know if it’s the reception of the signal or the computers she has, but surfing at mom’s house is like swimming in molasses.
So, I have until this weekend to figure out what kind of phone and plan to get mom so she can do a Facebook check-in at Zaxby’s, take a picture of her food and post it on her page – just like many of you do. You know who you are.
Standard reporter Duane Sherrill can be reached at 473-2191.