With this statement, I will age myself. But I’m going to do it anyway. Does anyone remember the very distinct smell of Radio Shack electronics? I do.
To this day I can still remember the smell of my first stereo. It was a behemoth of a stereo system - turntable, dual cassette player and an AM/FM radio – all in one. All of this high-tech gadgetry in one large block of plastic and metal. It had two large speakers too; big grey ones that trembled when I repetitiously played the same 45 rpm record. 45's were easier to convince my mom into buying. And like iTunes offers now, these 45s allowed me to buy only the songs I liked. Held within a sleeve of thin paper, these little gems were my ticket to a whole new world.
My brother, being older, had what in my opinion was an archaic stereo in comparison (his played 8-track tapes), wherein I had the ability to do something with two cassette tapes at once. I remember the sound the tape made as I pushed the forward button trying to find the exact spot wherein the next song I wanted to play would begin. I also remember the loud clunk the tape player made when it turned off after arriving at the end of the cassette tape. All noises my kids have never heard.
Now, everything is created, and expected to be smooth, with quiet transitions. That wasn’t how it was when I was growing up in the 70’s and 80’s. In fact, nothing compares to the large forceful shove one had to make inserting an 8 track into the player.
My parents, being the country folks they were, still managed to enjoy all that technology had to offer. And when the latest and greatest was available, it was quickly introduced into our home. My children will never know how large a TV remote can be, while still possessing only four buttons. Large buttons that protruded from the center of a block of plastic, that we called the clicker. I fondly remember my dad scanning the living room, then saying, “Where’s the clicker?” Before we had the plastic clicker - my brother and I were the clickers - often made to stand patiently next to the TV turning the knob from channel to channel. Thank God we only had four channels.
As if yesterday, I warmly remember eating dinner while listening to the soft, fuzzy sound the needle on our record player made as it rested delicately on the record that spun on the turntable before the music began. I also remember sitting in my room, my mind suspended in the familiar spaces of do-nothing, think-nothing teenager existence, while record after record dropped onto the turntable.
Just as I was amazed back then to watch the arm of the record player magically remove itself from the record once it was done, I am just as amazed now to watch my son set up his wireless surround sound system (the same system that woke me at 2am this morning, once he finished setting it up). I am astounded that I can, sitting here behind my laptop, send my son an email and within seconds the cell phone nestled in his pocket will buzz with acknowledgment. I am amazed that within seconds of posting this blog, someone in Germany can read it. All of this - done smoothly and quietly.
I hope my children will get the chance to experience the same baffling advances in technology as they age. Right now, they take it so for granted; I doubt much will impress them. Truth be told, there is a part of me that wishes for the old clicker, instead of a remote that, God forbid I hit the wrong button on while fumbling in the dark. I suppose that is why on most Saturday nights, you can find me watching an old rerun of Charlie’s Angels. Where the cars were big and Charlie spoke through a large speaker.
Sane
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