Hello…..

Found Black Beauty tucked into a corner in an antique/curiosity shop in Parsboro, Nova Scotia: Henry and Lucy’s. We were on a family vacation and the boys indulged my love of all things weird and wonderful. I was looking for an old fashioned typewriter, actually, but ended up with this beauty instead.

I am never far from my cellphone. Or perhaps I should say my cellphone is never far from me. Which is kind of funny because I was a naysayer for so long. But now, if I can’t find my phone, a mild wash of panic sends me into a tailspin.

How quickly this instantaneous and immediate source of communication has become a perceived necessity rather than the luxury it is. I have moved from being a two handed typist to a two fingered texter. Truth be told; however, it is not the texting that impresses. The camera is the cell phone’s most impressive feature, though I must admit I rarely use it. I am guilty of living “in the moment”. I have memories galore of the fun times I’ve had with friends, family, grandchildren. But very few pictures. Which is why I like to see the snaps others share. Especially of the grandchildren. So very fortunate to have so many people who happily take screen shots and send me pics of my beautiful boys. They are blessings for sure.

But back to Black Beauty.

I remember distinctly when the long cord came out and Mom bought one for the family phone. You could stretch that cord all the way round the corner into the next room where, if you lowered your voice to a whisper, you could imagine you were having a ‘private’ conversation – party line notwithstanding.

Privacy is not such a big deal today. A standing joke amongst a few close friends is that if it’s not on Social Media, it’s not real. Which again is funny, being it that so much of what you do see is staged, filtered and fake. “So what?” you say. And you are probably right. So what … years from now, will we know the difference between a memory that is real and a memory we have had ‘instagrammed’ unto our consciousness?  One will likely endure as long as the other. So maybe it doesn’t matter. What does matter, though, what does make a difference, is the right here, the right now: being present in the moment.  It shapes who we are, who we become.

But I digress.

Back to this old antique, this phone. What am I going to do with it? Nothing … pure nostalgia …feeling that way today …  I was happy to pack it up and bring it home.

Twice-loved.