“Insularity is the foundation of ethnocentrism and intolerance….”
This fall has been splendid. Yesterday was in the 60’s and today is in the high 50’s. Gracie and I get to go to the dump later. I haven’t told her yet. She just gets too excited. Right now she is looking out the front door hoping, I think, for something to see. I’m sorry to say she’s out of luck. My street is always quiet.
I wonder what encyclopedia salesmen do now, the same with TV repairmen who used to come with a toolbox and a box of tubes. My father was a pinsetter at the local bowling alley when he was in high school. My mother used to get blocks of ice delivered to her house. When I was little, I had to tell the operator the number I wanted. I remember our number started with ST for Stoneham. My father never got just gas but also got his windshield and back window washed, and if he wanted, they’d check his oil. Kids had newspaper routes. Adults in cars deliver now. Shorthand has gone the way of Latin, a dead language. I don’t remember the last time I saw an elevator operator. The guy at the corner who used to sell papers is gone. Now you put your money in a box and take out a paper. When I plan a trip, I hunt through the internet for the best price. The travel agent used to do that for me.
The loss of people to people occupations have made us all far less connected. We are becoming more and more insular though I still smile at people and some smile back. The rest are probably wondering what I want by that smile. The world is becoming a colder place.
Explore posts in the same categories: MusingsTags: blocks of ice, encyclopedia salemen, gas station men, ice delivery, newspaper routes, pinball setters, TV repairmen
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October 30, 2014 at 12:59 pm
Hi Kat,
Sometimes I think my street is in a time warp. My newspaper still comes by Kid Next Door. It’s the local newspaper, though, so that’s why. The other two dailies come by adults in cars. Or internet.
I can still have someone pump gas for me in several places around town but they don’t clean the windows unless I ask.
TV repairmen still exist. They have to repair more than just TV’s but they are still there. I actually went to one to have my old cell phone screen fixed. Cost me $50. It was less than half the price of replacing the phone.
Anything to do with books though, I don’t know. I think they have to figure out something else to sell.
You’re correct that we are less connected in real life. We don’t really want to have to go out of our way to have things fixed or have someone organize things for us. We would rather throw it away or deal with it online than have to go somewhere, talk to someone (a, gasp!, stranger!) and have them organize it for us.
It’s lovely here today. Sunny with a few clouds and a light breeze. The dogs are at play school. I’m picking up walnuts.
Enjoy the day.
October 30, 2014 at 1:04 pm
Hi Caryn,
I too can still have someone pump gas, and it is usually a cheaper spot than the rest. They even give Gracie a dog biscuit.
I’m surprised about TV repairmen being around. They must be computer guys as most TV’s have computer components. I’d never think about getting my cell front changed.I’ll have to remember that.
Most times it is cheaper to replace than fix. When something finally dies, I usually upgrade to the next one. I did have a computer guy come and fix my computer the first time it died. Now it is dead again and just sitting on the floor gathering dust. At some point I may call him.
I do a lot of stuff on line and am now in the process of Christmas shopping. I just don’t want to fight for a parking space and the crowds. Besides, I don’t even have to get dressed!
Lovely day here too: crisp like fall should be but not cold. The sun is bright. I’m getting ready to go out-dog food shopping!
Have a great day!
October 30, 2014 at 2:49 pm
Usually it is cheaper to replace than repair. I had replaced my broken cell phone but they screwed up the data transfer (as I knew they would but hoped they wouldn’t) and wiped my contacts file. I HAD to repair my broken cell phone because I needed that contacts file. So essentially, I paid fifty bucks to get my contacts list back. I have written them all down on paper so I won’t have to do that again.
All my Christmas shopping is done online. Only way to do it as far as I’m concerned. Eliminates driving to the mall in traffic and/or snow, parking, broken field running in the mall, lugging packages, wrapping. All the things I hate. 🙂
October 30, 2014 at 2:56 pm
I even buy wrapping paper on line. People actually commented on the paper I bought last year. What I like is I can send the Colorado stuff straight there and save on double shipping costs. My brother-in-law is kind enough to wrap the gifts I send.
I find neat ad different things on line for gifts. That’s the fun part.
October 30, 2014 at 2:34 pm
I don’t think elevator operators have been especially common here, I have actually never heard of anyone ever. I’ve only seen them in American movies 🙂
I’ve never seen any of those boxes with news papers here either, unless it’s one of those free papers that says very little about anything but have lots of ads in them. So we still need to buy our papers from a store. I miss the old time candy stores we had, the only candy stores that still exists only seel exclusive chocolate and they can only be found in the three big cities here.
But we still have the old time tea and coffe shops where one can chose from lots of different varieties and they sell chocolate now days too but only the expensive kind that, to be honest, usually taste like crap 🙂
27F here this morning and this evening will probably be just as chilly. But warmer winds will fly in here this weekend, they are actually coming from Your area 🙂
Have a great day!
Christer.
October 30, 2014 at 3:01 pm
Christer,
There used to be elevator operators here. For some reason they all wore white gloves. The fancy hotels still have them.
We have a couple of candy stores in town, the chocolate is quite good, and in Hyannis another store sells penny candy which is at least a nickel now.
I have a favorite store which sells sandwiches and pastry as well as different kinds of coffee. I always order a panini with bacon, avocado, cheddar cheese and spicy mayo.
It is still warmer than expected today. I did my errands and Gracie came. Nt much traffic but I was still happy to get home.
Have a great evening!
October 30, 2014 at 5:13 pm
I left school in 1973 and went to work in the Exchange Control department of the Bank of England which administered the Exchange Control Act of 1947.
I stuck around for a while, leaving in 1977 to go to college in London. In 1979 the Exchange Control Act was repealed and the skills of those still at the Bank were redundant over night.
Never look back, but I couldn’t help glancing in my rear view mirror and be thankful that I was gone
October 30, 2014 at 6:29 pm
My Dear Hedley,
You were forward thinking which saved you. More and more jobs are becoming redundant. More and more people are being replaced my machines. Who could figure plumbing is a guaranteed profession?
October 30, 2014 at 10:41 pm
Today all those jobs are gone. Without specialized training and education a person today with just a high school diploma has few choices and will probably become a member of our growing permanent under class. Fast food and Walmart are their only career choices.
In both Oregon and New Jeresy it is illegal to pump your own gas. I think it’s a make work program created to keep Eastern European male immigrants from winding up homeless on our streets.
TVs have become a commodity item and are so cheap it doesn’t pay to repair them. Some audiophiles think that vacuum tube amplifiers have a warmer more natural sound than transistor amplifiers. The only place that still manufactures them are in Russia.
October 30, 2014 at 10:53 pm
Bob,
Exactly! That was the point of my jottings. So many jobs have disappeared and so many more will so disappear. A high school diploma is useless unless it leads to a an entry level job which teaches skills.
Why do you think it is only Eastern Europeans? Almost any unskilled worker would want that job and any job, something which brings in money, as little as it is.
Most things are cheaper to replace than fix and every generation of appliances gets better than the one before it. My iPhone is now obsolete and won’t connect to my iMac with its new operating system. All that is planned. Now I need a new phone!
October 30, 2014 at 11:26 pm
Whenever I flilled my rental car in New Jeresy the man fueling the car looked disheveled, unshaven and spoke with an Eastern European accent. My son didn’t take my suggestion to become a plumber and he is studying audio engineering. A call center in India can’t help you when your toilet is backed up.
October 30, 2014 at 11:56 pm
Bob,
I figure plumbing and electrical are safe bets for jobs. Those needs won’t disappear.
October 31, 2014 at 12:20 am
Speaking of the world becoming a colder place, we have our first winter storm warning. Gone is the lengthy autumn I was so enjoying. And yes we are indeed becoming more and more disconnected. And the dollars keep flowing in that direction. I am certain that in two more generations, people will be born as slugs with all the proper connections. Or some such. Even electronic connections will be as gone as the passing of wind. (real breezes, not the ‘other’ kind).
Carl
October 31, 2014 at 12:44 am
Carl,
No way should there be snow before Halloween. It just doesn’t seem right somehow. We are due for the 30’s by Monday night. This fall has spoiled us.
I figure USB ports will be part of the anatomy at some future day. We are personally disconnected, texting has made words obsolete, and we will soon only communicate electronically.
People to people in person will disappear.