The ol’ days

When my mother was raising her family, she did not enjoy the household luxuries we take for granted today. Homemakers made do with what they had, expanding a lot of energy while seeing to their daily tasks. Luckily, little by little, things improved.

Few people would want to go back to those labor-intensive ol’ days, yet most of us mourn some aspect of the past which we somehow feel would make our lives better today. Pangs of nostalgia seem to be most common when prices are being discussed. Someone will inevitably say they remember paying less than 50 cents for a gallon of gas.

But nostalgia has a way of being selective. We tend to forget what the minimum wage was in the ol’ days. We glorify only the memories which seem to prove the argument of the moment. For example, we may complain about today’s ethics comparing them to a time when concern for others was, we feel, the norm rather than the exception. What we are tempted to forget is that some of the attitudes of the past were grossly narrow-minded.

When I was in high school, one of my classmates left abruptly after Christmas one year to return only the following September. She had gone to Europe to live with an aunt for a while, our teacher said, but there were whispers in the hallways. When she returns, she’ll be changed, one of my classmates said all-knowingly. Something in the eyes is not the same after you have a baby, she added for everyone’s enlightenment.

When the poor girl did return, I kept looking into her eyes to see the change for myself. I remember seeing only a lot of sadness. How could it have been otherwise? Society through its better-than-thou authority figures had judged her so she had no choice but to give birth to a child she would never be able to hold and love. Of course, the pendulum has now swung to the other extreme, and often today having a child is a prerequisite to marriage! But I digress.

In the ol’ days, prices might have been cheaper, but when it came to certain attitudes, we could very well call them the dark days. Not a time everyone would wish to relive.

 

 

 

 

To Sleep or Not to Sleep

As the years pile up, sleep patterns can become disturbed. The reasons for this state of affairs are as varied as there are people. For some it’s recurring pain, for others it could be worry and stress, medication or depression. The list goes on and on.

            The point is that being unable to sleep at times just proves that we are human. The question then becomes: what are you supposed to do about it? Or rather, with it?

            My sister tells me that every so often she spends the whole night awake and is terribly tired the next day. While I believe she may be awake for part of the night, she probably dozes off for some time here and there without realizing it. She says she watches TV until it’s time to get up, but I am of the opinion that she sleeps without realizing it. In any event, having a television set in the bedroom is not a good idea because we may be tempted to watch movies late at night, movies that may keep us on the edge of our seat – rather our bed – making it hard to fall asleep afterwards.

Lack of sleep is no laughing matter, and a doctor should be consulted if it is the norm rather than the exception. You might simply need more exercise; an after-dinner walk can do wonders for the body. Or your spouse may be a loud snorer or a restless sleeper and thus affect your own sleep. Discuss the problem with him or her.

            Because we often become light sleepers as we age, outside sounds such as an airplane, a loud car or thunder can wake us up without our realizing exactly the cause of the problem. To counteract such things, some people use earplugs, but I doubt that everyone would be comfortable wearing them to bed. 

            Another problem is suffering from insomnia when traveling. Many people cannot sleep, or at least sleep soundly, when in a bed other than their own often because the mattress is much softer or harder than the one they are used to. It is certain that we all get used to our own space, no matter the age. I live in the city, but when I visit a son and his family who live in the country, the complete silence is something I’m not used to.

            Some of the reasons we do not sleep well can be remedied once we become aware of what they are, i.e. the mattress, the snorer beside us, etc. However, you may have a sleep disorder if most of the time you have trouble falling asleep or staying asleep; or you wake up not feeling rested and feel the need to take a nap during the day. A sleep disorder should be discussed with a doctor. We all need our sleep and can only be our best when we are rested no matter our age.

 

 

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Brain Health

With age everyone hopes for a brain that remains healthy. And challenging it with new tasks as often as possible is certainly the way to go. Things such as learning a new language, doing crossword puzzles, reading, taking lessons to play a musical instrument, etc. will benefit the brain in myriad ways. However, the computerized world in which we now live may not be best for the brain.

            When I gather my income tax papers and add my receipts, I do it the long way by hand (perhaps the last one in the world who still does that!) because I believe it’s a good way of keeping my brain sharp. I worry that the younger generations who now rely solely on calculators may not be doing their brains any favor.

            The same certainly applies to phones today. No one seems to remember numbers anymore because they are entered in our hand-held devices where the name is the identification rather than the number.  When we need to call someone, we only need to tap on the name. A far cry from not so long ago when we did need to write numbers down on an actual piece of paper. I think it made the brain work as we tried to remember numbers. Another brain activity lost.

            I think brain activity is also diminished when our computer programs go into action as we write letters or messages. They either auto-correct or underline words they do not recognize. I am sure all of you remember when we actually had to check words in a dictionary when unsure of the spelling before having to carefully review texts to catch typos. Of course, that is easier and faster today.

            And then there is GPS, that marvel which helps people find their way. The global positioning system is a great help when we travel a tricky route or are guiding a ship through the Panama Canal, but it has drawbacks. A new study from the University of Kent in the U.K. concluded that when we follow the instructions from a GPS rather than planning our own route, the brain switches off. The end result is that humans will get worse and worse at using their brain for planning and decision making.

            And then, today, instead of having to consult an encyclopaedia, we only need to ask Siri or Alexa or any other robot living in devices for the information we need. Easy and quick.

            It is speculated that our brains are changing because of all these new realities. Of course we have yet to see to what extent we will be affected or if mankind will simply slowly adapt. Let’s hope for the latter, especially where the children are concerned.

 

 

 

 

 

 Fourth Wave

When I took a little break from my blog to see my family, I was certain that when I returned covid would be gone once and for all. That’s certainly far from the reality we face, is it not? Now a serious fourth wave is under way in many areas and is expected to get much worse as children return to class. 

            The corona virus has been around before, but covid has proven to be a very nasty form. Unfortunately, not everyone takes it seriously as some people still refuse to be inoculated. A friend of mine was telling me recently that if these people had been alive during the polio crisis of the 50s when so many children were crippled, they would run to get vaccinated. As soon as the anti-polio vaccine appeared, polio was defeated once and for all, never to return.

            Some experts are now talking about the possibility of vaccinated people needing a booster shot so covid does not have a chance to return. If that’s what it takes, let’s do it, I say. Anything so that life can at last return to normal, or at least as close to the normal we knew before the pandemic. We all need a break from the bad news.

Time for a Break

I’m taking a few weeks off from my blog to recharge and renew as I see my family in person for the first time in a year and a half. I’ll be back in August.

            In the meantime I leave you with some thoughts. Have a great summer and don't forget the newly released novel McPine for your summer reading.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Modern World

No one can deny that we’ve become used to the many benefits of our electronic age.

            I check my email while having my porridge in the morning, then I answer some or write others. A few days ago I had to write to someone in Australia. I penned my message and clicked send. In a matter of moments it was read halfway around the world and amazingly I got a reply in less than an hour. I come from a world where when you wanted to communicate with someone you had to write an actual letter, put it in an envelope and go mail it. So much more efficient today.

When writing something by hand, did you ever come to a word you were not 100% sure how to spell, then somehow expected that, by some magic, any error would be corrected? We’ve become used to the “magic” of the electronic age. I first experienced that magic when I began using a word processor all those many years ago; I was amazed that I could amend or delete text without having to use an eraser! 

But our new communication ease does have its problems. Take phones, for example. I remember a time when most families had a black phone that served everyone’s communication need. Then someone thought that there should be colour, and there was. People harmonized their phone with their decor with phones that were red, blue, pink, etc. But the arrival of the cell phone changed everything. I remember being in Hong Kong in 1987 and seeing a man talking into a rather large hand-held phone. That was the beginning of the revolution. Today, of course, a cell phone that connects you to the rest of the world fits neatly into a small pocket.

I’m sure my grandparents had no idea what humans were capable of imagining.

Another problem with modern communication is that every phone is now a camera something some people forget when they go about doing things they should not be doing. And there’s also the cameras put up in and outside buildings as well as cameras cities put up to allow them to keep an eye on things and people. Unless you live in the country and don’t go into cities, you are bound to be seen on a camera somewhere and your actions analyzed. I find that a bit scary, but then it’s a great tool for law enforcement to find those who are up to no good.
            And so it goes. I think this is just the beginning of modern communication possibilities, but it reminds us to be vigilant to ensure that our rights are not violated.