Younger at coronary heart with splendid grey hair
Printed 7:30 am Wednesday, September 20, 2023
By Les Ferguson, Jr.
Columnist
My 17-year-old senior in highschool likes to inform me I’m too previous to have a son his age. Occasionally when he has stepped on my final nerve, I’d assume he’s proper. However solely every now and then.
However it’s humorous how usually our youngsters assume we’re technologically inept. Of their mind-set, if we’re over forty, we have to be previous and subsequently dumb too.
Nevertheless, I consider myself as being technologically apt in addition to younger and handsome. Brad Pitt has nothing on me.
It’s true. I wouldn’t fudge one thing that essential.
However again to expertise. There was a time not so way back that I might program a VCR. Earlier than that, I used to be a wizard with an 8-track tape participant after which a grasp with a cassette participant. It’s an entire new stage of tech to have the ability to manually wind a cassette with a pencil.
To not be left behind by evolving music techniques, someplace in one in every of our closets is an enormous case of compact discs – a historical past of my favourite music. Sure, I nonetheless sometimes present my recreation by pulling these dangerous boys out.
To be utterly forthcoming, I type of let the MP3 participant period slip previous me a bit, however by the point of the iPhone, I used to be a grasp as soon as once more – this time with the digital obtain.
iTunes, Pandora, Spotify, and Sirius XM provide no intimidation to a techno-geek like me.
After which there are my laptop forays. I labored on mainframe computer systems within the Navy. I lower my private laptop enamel on DOS machines. I moved via IBM clones from desktops to one of many earliest laptops to be discovered. I child you not, it was known as a lunchbox laptop.
You gained’t discover me removed from a MacBook or an iPad nowadays. Actually, simply to indicate my tech chops, this column and the final two had been written on my iPhone which was the newest version till final week.
Social media is one other space of experience. I repeatedly use Fb, Instagram, X (previously known as Twitter), and Threads. My telephone additionally has apps for Snapchat, TikTok, and others I can plug into if I so need. To additional illustrate my prowess, I don’t by chance submit issues or make unintended Facetime calls.
Simply because I’ve expertise with dial tones, social gathering traces, and busy indicators doesn’t make me previous, proper? Proper? Not by a protracted shot.
So far as previous goes, that’s only a mind set.
And consider me, I can Tiky Tok with the very best of them. (Observe to self, ask one of many boys if I used that accurately).
Whether or not previous or younger, I like this verse: “The glory of younger males is their power, and the splendor of previous males is grey hair.” (Proverbs 20:29 CSB17)
It might be cliched, however age is however a quantity, and younger may be discovered within the coronary heart.
Have an awesome week!
Les Ferguson, Jr., is minister at Oxford Church of Christ. Write to him at lfergusonjr@gmail.com