ADJUSTING TO NEW SURROUNDINGS – traveling while old!

One of the hardest things for old people to do is to adjust to new surroundings. Especially if they involve internet technology, which means anything from an extension cord to a toaster and beyond. Everything is too complex for me. I can still remember when our phone number was Black 200 and we were on a party line. I could pick up the phone and ask the operator if she knew where my grandmother was.

Today, it is way too complex. For example:

We rented a condo in Florida, which is also rented to families with kids. I was faced with

The TV system which included three large TVs, a CD player, another player, cable, regular TV, and of course, NO  radio. 

SINCE I WROTE THIS, AND AFTER HAVING TROUBLE MAKING THE TVs WORK, I DISCOVERED, BY ACCIDENT, OR DUE TO MY AGE, THAT 3 OF THE CLICKERS DID NOT HAVE BATTERIES AND IN ONE, THE BATTERIES WERE DEAD. AFTER A TRIP TO THE DRUG STORE  FOR NEW BATTERIES, THE CLICKERS WORKED AND I WAS ABLE TO MAKE ALL THE TVs WORK.  I THINK THAT THIS SAYS SOMETHING ABOUT MY AGE. MY GRANDSON WOULD HAVE FIGURED IT OUT IN A MINUTE. (9/29/18)

Some of them you have to subscribe to. Some only work in conjunction with other systems. Some don’t seem to work. The TV in the living room does not get CNN, so we had to move to one of the two bedrooms to watch CNN.

Then you have to hook up to the internet, which means a series of numbers, letters and signs typed into a small key pad that you can’t see using old fingers that either hit the wrong key or two keys at the same time.

And, I forgot to mention the key lock box at the front door. It was set low and hard to see in the dark. It had little number that were not the size of my fingers. But, we got it done.

Where are my grandkids when I need them.

The closets were packed with beach paraphernalia, so, of course there was no storage space. Stepping over inflated, but non-deflatable, large toy inner tubes may be hazardous to my health. But, it ended up on top of the huge TV which was on top of a large cabinet which was in our bedroom and which got CNN.

There were several toasters, 4 coffee pots and the usual assortment of pots, pans, dishes, etc collected over the years reflecting the status as an AirBnb site.

The lights and fans (3 of them) were controlled by at least 2, and sometimes 3 switches each. 

There were rules, of course. The one I liked the best said: “no hanging towels over the railing on the porch.” The best part was that there was a clothes drying rack ii the corner of the porch. My kind of place.

All in all, it is a nice place, but we are just in the first 24 hours, which is adjustment time. We have 27 days to go, along with the remedial construction on the building, since this is the off-season, and it is our third year in this building. At our age, we are afraid to try anything new and the off-season is cheap and more interesting than the rest of the year.

I come from Kansas, and tornadoes, so hurricanes interest me – sick, I know, but am still fascinated by the sea, the clouds and the storms.

THINK OLD!