How did we do it....

[Clearwater AL]

Before cell phones how did we go to the local store without one. How did we go to the mall without
one? How in the world did we drive all the way to another state or several states without one?
Remember taking pictures and having to get the film developed?

Well, if you were born after 1980....you're probably saying, "You gotta be kidding."

 

[KimT]

I do just fine without my cell phone when I'm out. I still have a landline at home so sometimes my cell phone is in the charging station for a couple of days. I do enjoy Apple Play in the Car. And it is nice to have a very good "camera" that fits in my purse.

 

[Nikki J]

I got rid of the landline a long time ago but I could manage without the cell phone and go with a landline again if I had to. The apps are handy as is the camera as Kim says

however without the technology of cell/ tablet I couldn’t manage the logistics of my life even before the coronavirus. Online orders, ebooks, online support groups, texting and emailing, video visits with family in other countries

I am very very grateful to have this. Back in the early 2000s when I had only a desk top I was housebound with an injury for over a month. People brought me books and groceries but I like being able to manage things myself

 

[Clearwater AL]

Nikki, I agree.... with the situation between Ann and I... cell phones are a blessing. We have had to keep
our hard line phone because we live on the side of hill and the repeater is off in the distance on the
other side of the hill. Sometimes our cell phone coverage here is spotty. But for so many other situations
it is so useful and possibly life saving.

Just a quick example of the ease today of cell phones. Now, many years ago, our company installed
petroleum equipment, If we had a problem in the field concerning water, water depth the problem
had to be worked out over the phone, maybe take a day or more. Today, the installers in the field can
take pictures, send them back to the engineers and the problem can be resolved in an hour or
less. Oh, my job back then would have been so much easier. BUT... we still got the job done.

"How did we do it"

PS. I'd like to buy some electronic device that comes with a printed manual with out having to
go online to figure out a glitch.

 

[EricInLA]

I remember coming back from vacations in Europe or some National Park. . . we would take our film to be developed, and the most exciting thing was picking up the photos and going through them. Then we would make a PHOTO ALBUM. Remember that? How about slides? Any of you do a slide show of your vacation to show your friends/family? (They were usually bored to tears) It seems all those things are gone - you go somewhere, take a picture and in 2 seconds its on Facebook and the whole world -- or at least your world -- can see. OK, I totally sound like a cranky old man, which I'm not. . . just an observation.

For our particular disease, technology is a blessing, as AL says. For instance, this forum. We have a rare disease, as y'all know, so it's not like you can easily get a neighborhood group together of people who are suffering from it. But with the Internet, so much information and so many resources are available which makes one feel that they are not alone in the struggle. I can imagine how (much more) isolating this hellacious disease was for those afflicted prior to the Internet. It's so nice to have an online connection to others afflicted, to doctors, and other outlets of support.