Thursday, November 19, 2009

The Marvels of Technology Vs. the Good Old Days

I love being able to pay our bills online. Log into our account, put in a few (large) numbers, push a few keys, and, violá, our bills are paid. I can do these simple transactions one day and have the payment actually go out several weeks later. Some regular bills are set up to pay themselves automatically each month. I don't need to write checks. I don't need to pay for stamps. It's great!

EXCEPT.....when the credit card company sends me a new credit card because my old account"was compromised". (Was my female Mastercard caught messing around with a male Visa card???)

No problem, just change the account number and address on the on-line information and the large quantity of money goes to a new home. No problem, except for the fact that I put in the wrong account number. So Mastercard tells me that I haven't paid my bill, the bank clearly says that I have, and no one can figure out where my large quantity of money has gone. Several phone calls later, we are closer to a resolution. Mastercard will find the account that was given my money, will tell the poor folks who think they have had a windfall that what has been mysteriously given is being taken away, and will eventually credit my account...and take away the finance charges.

Oh, for the good old days (Not really).

The good old days did, however, have some pretty wonderful things. Among them was Rocky and Bullwinkle. This wonderful show debuted 50 years ago this week and our family was hooked from the beginning. We all would gather around our small TV in the living room and be mesmerized by the misadventures of Rocky the Flying Squirrel and his side-kick Bullwinkle the Moose. The "Fractured Fairy Tales" were great, but we particularly liked "Peabody's Improbable History". In that segment, Mr. Peabody (who was a dog) and his "boy Sherman" would explain historical events as they never occurred. We also were quite fond of bad guy Boris Badenov and his "better" half Natasha Fatale.

Our family was also quite fond of two other prime time cartoon shows, Huckleberry Hound and Yogi Bear. "Better than your average bear" became part of the family lingo and we couldn't help but think of Mr. Ranger whenever we saw a real park ranger in a national park.

The funny thing is that these were cartoon shows. My brother and I were high school age when they were in their glory. My parents - especially my dad - loved these shows. They were totally innocent and totally silly....and I miss them!

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