by Pat Laster
Upon returning from north central Arkansas where four of us spent our sisters'
week, my laptop grew slower and slower like a lumbering elephant (rest in peace,dear Ellen, lately of the Little Rock Zoo). It finally would not even move. Except for my Up-link email, which is local. I took it to Office Depot where it had been twice before on recommendation of a former high school technology instructor. The first two times, it was repaired.This time, it wasn't.
To be sure it wasn't an AT&T problem, I called them on Saturday morning.
Afterall the rigmarole of the robot asking me to punch this, or say this, I clicked on "0" as I'd been told to do by someone else. But even then, Mr. Robot had to know some things so he would know where to "put" me.
I was connected to a man whose name sounded like Josh. I did what he asked me to do and he determined it was NOT in the DSL modem or the lines. When he asked me where I was calling from, I said, "Arkansas, Benton." Then I asked him where he was talking from. "I'm working from the Philippines," he said. "What time is it there?" I asked.
"Eleven-thirty p.m." He suggested I take it back to Office Depot for another shot at repair. We said our goodbyes.
Before I could decide what to do or whether to try something else, the phone
rang. An AT&T man from St. Louis was on the line. By that time, Grandson Billy was over my shoulder whispering to me and pointing to the screen. I handed him the phone and fled the room. (I had tried to get him to contact AT&T himself since he had good experiences with them in the past, but nooooooooo.)
Mr. St. Louis agreed with Mr. Philippines that it needed another trip to the
repair shop. Billy said to me, "Take it down to Office Depot and get your money
back, then take it to the Geek Squad at Best Buy." Instead, I took a nap. Like
Scarlett O'Hara, I'd think about it later.
But I had to remember that Monday was the STANDARD's deadline, and what would happen if I couldn't access my original column that I'd finished and checked earlier today? I'd better have a back-up. Hence, this substitute piece. I take copious notes with each day's readings; surely I had something appropriate in my journal; that is one reason I keep such a notebook.
For instance, did you know that opposite sides of a dice cube always add up to
seven? I didn't. Or that there is a shade of green paint called "split pea"? Makes
sense.
I wonder what the difference is between being "treated right" and treated
fairly," as US Interior Secretary Ken Salazar was quoted as saying about the
[Indian] Tribes.
Of the fourteen different shoe brands in a Dillard's ad, I have heard of only
Naturalizer, Clarks and the name Calvin Klein. What does that say about my fashion
sense? Just like I didn't know about Coach purses until my daughter-in-law went to
Destin from Pensacola Beach because Coach purses were on sale. She bought a
regularly-priced $300+ bag for $132--or something near that.
And what is an electronic cigarette? My computer browser is not functioning so I can't "google" it to find out.
Terry Wallace, retired announcer at Oaklawn Park in Hot Springs Arkansas, called 20,191 consecutive races during his tenure.
Is it a Southernism to omit the "'ve" from "you"? Ernie Passailaigue (South
Carolina/Arkansas) and Mike Malone, Fayetteville, both lottery "men," said these
things quoted in Friday's Arkansas Democrat-Gazette: "You got to get..." (EP) "You got to have..." (MM) and "You got to take..." (one of them).
Maybe next week, 'ye ol' laptop will be working like new. If not, I'll have a
new one!
My first novel, A Journey of Choice, is available at Amazon and BN.
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