Maggie had just brewed a cup of tea and was seated at her kitchen table. She was on the phone with her daughter.
“Sorry I’ve been out of touch, Ma,” her daughter said, “you know we’ve been busy helping Emma get ready for college this September—we drove up to Madison with her for orientation, spent the weekend there. Lovely town. So, what’s new with you? How’s the garden going?”
“The garden’s great. Going to be better than ever this year. By the way, I saw the weirdest bug there today. Huge, like nothing I’ve ever seen before. I’m going to have to find the camera—it’s packed away in the basement, probably still has film in it—I want to take a picture of it if I see it again.”
“Ma, nobody messes around with those old film cameras anymore. Use your phone. Even that crappy little flip phone of yours takes pictures. And if you had a smart phone, I’m sure you could download an app that would identify the bug for you.”
“The phone I have is just fine. I can call people and they can call me—I don’t need anything more complicated than that.”
“Don’t be silly, smart phones are easy to use, I know a lot of people your age who have them.”
“I just don’t want to learn how to use another new gadget. Life was so much easier without all of this electronic stuff.”
“Ma, it’s not rocket science,” Maggie visualized her daughter rolling her eyes, “everybody uses them. Look, Mark and I are planning to visit next Saturday, so I’ll pick up a new phone for you and bring it when we visit, then I’ll activate it and show you how simple it is to use. We’ll even download a few apps I know you’ll like, including something to help you identify your new bug.”
”Oh Sharon …”
“No arguments Ma. We’re doing this. You’re getting a smart phone—welcome to the twenty-first century. See you next Saturday.”
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