Cold Turkey

Yesterday, I took my computer in for an adjustment. When I came home, I went to my usual chair, turned on the television, opened a beer and then looked at an empty desk. The computer I normally searched the web, typed my blogs, read my e-mails was gone.

Now I had another computer inside but there is no television hooked up there. I could change my routine and go inside and surf the web or stay outside and enjoy the sunshine and watch the yard. So I went cold turkey.

It is amazing the habits we get into. I fuss at people who are constantly looking at their phones, but here I was disconnected. There wasn’t anything I was really missing yet it was a difference in the daily routine. To make matters worse, I had this idea. What will I do?

I reached across the empty space and opened a notebook. Picked up a pen and started to scratch words on paper. Yes, handwriting. It still exist. At first the letters were slow to sketch out and tight together, and then it started loosen up. Much different than banging away on the keyboard I could see the letters changing from static print to cursive. As the ideas came faster so did the writing.

Cold turkey really wasn’t that bad. I had done this before when the electricity had gone out during a hurricane. Actually several days with no electricity didn’t bother me. I could get out, sit on the porch and play my guitar, write on a pad of paper and go to sleep earlier. It is sort of like what our forefathers did.

Well I got the call the same day and decided not to wait to get my computer back. A short trip, a plug in and everything was back to normal. Even thought the new computer works great and has all the same links and connections and apps, it sits in the box. Sometimes it feels better to just be the same.