Rambling on about life before and with My Computer…

My life without my computer, I am one of those people who can remember life before the computer. When they came it took a bit of persuasion to make the switch. Before the invention, my desk held a typewriter and a file holder, legal pads and notebook paper filled clipboards, notebooks and scribble pads. There were pens and pencils scattered about and held together in a cut glass pencil holder that belonged to my Daddy. I had pads and pens scattered about the house, in places where I could jot down ideas and thoughts when they came, when inspiration struck. Folders for varied topics, that held reverence. I had bookends holding together books that held words in case of a word emergency, my dictionary and thesaurus. Books for reference lined the bookshelves and spilled onto the floor and desk in stacks. Newspapers and magazines littered my desk and were held for future reference in magazine racks. To study, to explore there was no button to push, no search engine that was powered by the mystical internet. Instead, I read, I watched ,I listened, and I created using my own mind, my imagination.

I can remember my first computer, my sister and her husband who was a computer tech brought it to me and after clearing off my desk installed it in my office. I was unsure of its usefulness; I had no idea where it would take me. I worried about losing my words in its processor, how could it know, what if it failed me. But in a shorter time than I imagined, it became a magical and wondrous thing. Giving me access to meet other people who wrote, who shared, who wanted to talk and adventure off together into places our minds and words carried us. It was the greatest adventure I had ever been on and I still feel wonder at what is possible with it today…

Oh at times the features of my computer can test my mind and when it tries to change my words and flow at times I battle with it. I have come to accept it, embrace and even love it. I have fewer paper files, fewer notebooks and pens, but I still carry them and have one by my bed in case of an “idea” emergency. The mind of a poet, the mind that suddenly hears inspiration and feels a need to write something down, that has not changed. I call my computer Bella Babe and she and I spend time together daily. Some days I do nothing but read from her, some days she helps me pay bills, interact with the world, and some days she and I spend time in constant key chatter as I create. Everyday Bella Babe sits patiently waiting for me to rev up my mind and spill the words that form there. I now am far removed from the wired into the internet heavy desk computer. My computer is small, tiny in size, and captures its power from invisible wireless waves that connect us to the world. I still carry a notebook in my pocketbook, just in case I am inspired while she is at home. I now cannot imagine my life without my computer, my Bella Babe is more than an instrument, she is a companion and confident. It holds my thoughts, my dreams, and helps me with my needs. The computer helps me connect to a world that at times I wish to leave locked outside my gates and not let too close, and opens a door that leads to a world beyond anything I could have ever imagined long ago… It is my best friend I suppose now, and I never saw that coming. I can’t really imagine life WITHOUT my computer now…. What about YOU????