Technical Stop Gap

It was the Fall of 1994 when I got my first e-mail address. As usual I was way behind the curve and it took my best friend asking me if I had an e-mail address for me to even know what an e-mail address was.

My BFF (yes, we actually did call one another this well before Paris Hilton even thought about making it one of her signature phrases) and I attended school about 1000 miles apart from one another and religiously took turns each month calling the other. In between our monthly calls, we would write letters to each other - I mean real pen and paper, don't forget the stamp, letters. During one of these monthly calls my BFF mentioned they had gotten an e-mail address through their school and asked if I had one as well. I believe the conversation went something like this:

Froggie's BFF: I got an e-mail address the other day through school. Do you have one yet?

Froggie: E-mail address? What is an e-mail address?

Froggie's BFF: It's a way you can send messages through the computer. You haven't heard of it?

Froggie: Really!? That sounds cool. I'll have to find out if I can get one the next time I'm on campus.

So, I did just that. I can still picture the barren hallway I had to walk through to get to the room where I could sign up for an e-mail account. I don't know if they called it the "IT Department" back then, but whatever it was called I felt badly for them because they were housed in the middle of nowhere. After showing the guy my school ID he gave me all the information I would needed to log into the system. The program they used was called Pine. That was "the" program to use back then. Ah yes, the stark white screen with bland black lettering. The visual appeal was lacking, but the program itself was great for its time.


Those were the days. . . .

Fast forward about 14 years or so. Today life without e-mail would be unheard of. It would be like going without food. My friends endlessly tease me because I have multiple e-mail accounts - as if I'm the only one. These days, I take for granted the fact that I can "shoot" off a message to family and friends all over the country - or the world for that matter - and anticipate a prompt reply. These days, it takes me days on end to get a "real letter" in the mail if I absolutely must.

I guess I'm just amazed at where technology has taken society and changed our expectations . . . and I'm just talking about e-mail. I could go on and on about other technology related things, but this is where I will stop for now.

Until later. . .