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Page 4 August 4, 2010 The Spotlight
Getting charged up over a new laptop
By ROBIN SHRAGER SUITOR
news@spotlightnews.com
My father and I argue about
stupid stuff. Last month I used
my 6-year-old cell phone to
call him from the Town Pool
where I was relaxing in the
sun. We argued about laptop
computers. I have a laptop and
he wants one. He offered to buy
me a new laptop and take my
old one and make it his own.
I felt he should buy the new
computer for himself.
Here’s the problem: I don’t
want a new laptop and neither
does he.
I don’t want one because
1) I don’t like change and 2)
there’s nothing wrong with
the laptop I have. I only use
it to write. It doesn’t need
a lot of bells and whistles. I
don’t use it to connect to the
Internet, because I don’t want
the distraction. I start surfing
around, then Facebook pops
up, then e-mail beckons, then
few words get written.
Dad doesn’t want a brand
new laptop because he has
always been frugal and doesn’t
want to spend the money on
himself.
“But you want to buy ME a
new one,” I said to him, “If you
are buying, what difference
does it make who is using it?”
Then I had an idea. I told
him he could buy me the new
machine and I would lend it to
him. Then when I was a ready
for a newer computer, we could
swap.
He almost agreed to the
lending idea, but then he said,
“Go get yourself a faster, lighter
machine. That way you can
schlep it around more easily.”
The man is obsessed with my
lifting and carrying anything
more than a pound.
“Dad, I don’t really carry
the computer anywhere. It
mostly stays in the house, or
I take it out on the back deck.
Sometimes I go to the library,
but I’m only walking a short
distance from my car.”
And then it hit me: Why am
I arguing with my 80-year-old
father? Is it so important for
me to hang on to my 6-yearold
computer when he really
wants one? Do I need to be the
stubborn one?
I started to sell myself on
the idea. My laptop is heavier
than the newer models. And a
newer one would probably still
Wednesday, August 4 98°/1955 46°/1966
Thursday, August 5 99°/1955 43°/1972
Friday, August 6 98°/1900 45°/1994
Saturday, August 7 102°/1918 46°/1994
Sunday, August 8 95°/1983 46°/1948
Monday, August 9 96°/2001 46°/1989
Tuesday, August 10 96°/1949 48°/1955
19.13 inches as of July 30th
3.06 inches below average
81° 60°
August 9, 1878 The second deadliest tornado in
New England history and Connecticut’s deadliest tore
through Wallingford, killing 34 people, 6 in one home.
Almost a hundred others sustained injuries. Fifty homes
were completely destroyed by the twister.
“And then it hit me: Why am I arguing with
my 80-year-old father? Is it so important for
me to hang on to my 6-year-old computer
when he really wants one? Do I need to be
the stubborn one? ”
fit in my current carrying case.
I could keep the case.
I said, “OK, Dad, I’ll look
into ordering a new laptop.”
He said, “Yeah, get it while the
money is still here.”
“Where is the money going?”
I asked.
“I wasn’t supposed to live
this long,” he said, “Remember
that doctor who said I wasn’t
going to make it to 2005?”
Of course I remember. I
remember all too well. Dad
needed a new heart valve but
the surgeon decided my father
was not well enough to survive
an operation. The surgeon
had said, “If you were my own
father I wouldn’t operate.”
We didn’t like that answer.
After all, maybe that doctor
didn’t even like his own father.
So my parents came back
from Florida and Dad spent
three weeks in Albany Medical
Center “beefing down” for
surgery.
That was around the time I
Wednesday 5:50am 8:12pm
Thursday 5:51am 8:11pm
Friday 5:52am 8:09pm
Saturday 5:53am 8:08pm
Sunday 5:54am 8:07pm
Monday 5:55am 8:05pm
Tuesday 5:56am 8:04pm
August 3
Last
August 9
New
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Saturn Dusk Near Mars
Venus Dusk Bright W
Mercury Dusk V Low W
Jupiter Dawn High SSE
3.7 3.2
started carrying a cell phone.
The same one I still carry. Only
these days it is unable to hold a
charge for more than an hour.
I heard my cell phone “beep”
and then saw the “low battery!”
message on the display. “Dad,
my phone battery is about to
go,” I said, “so if we get cut off
you’ll know why.”
He decided I was making
this up because he was talking
about how he is supposed to
be dead and how much life
insurance he has.
“Oh, right, you don’t like the
topic,” he said.
I responded, “You’re right.
I don’t like the topic, but my
phone battery really is about
to die. I’ve been telling you this
for two weeks.”
He said, “Go buy yourself a
new phone.”
“Phones cost a lot if you buy
them when your plan is not up
for renewal.”
While we continued talking
I walked to the locker room so
I could plug in the phone. I’ve
begun carrying my charger
wherever I go.
“Hang on” I told my dad as I
plugged in my charger and then
connected it to the phone.
“You, OK?” he asked.
I told him, “I’m fine. I had to
go to the locker room so I could
plug in my phone because the
battery was giving out.” What
I didn’t add is, “See, I’m not
purposely rushing you off the
phone because of your choice
in topics.”
After a short while he said
HE had to go. A friend was
picking him up to go to a
barbecue. He needed to get
ready.
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“Good, now I can leave the
dark locker room and go back
out in the sun.”
“Go pee first while you’re
there so it shouldn’t be a total
waste.”
I said, “OK,” even though I
felt like saying, “I don’t have
to pee. I peed before I left the
house.” But there was no need
to argue. It’s not like he was
going to know whether or not
I peed.
He laughed, “Yeah, go pee,
and take a dump, too.”
“Ha, ha, Dad,”
“And go buy yourself a new
phone.”
“Yeah, OK. Have fun at the
barbecue.”
A few years ago I may not
have called my father while I
was sunbathing. Or if I did, the
call would have ended with the
low battery signal. I wouldn’t
have been standing in the dark
locker room near an electrical
outlet discussing life insurance
and bodily functions. But since
the loss of my mother, I have
become increasingly protective
of dad.
That’s why it was especially
stupid to argue about the
laptop.
I know what you readers are
thinking: You’ll gladly give my
dad your old laptop in exchange
for a new one. Unfortunately,
the offer only stands for close
relatives who are smart enough
to accept the offer without
hesitation. In this instance, that
means my niece who is heading
off to graduate school.
“Your brother ordered a
new computer for Leslie,” Dad
told me a few days after our
locker room chat, “I’m getting
her old one.”
I experienced a combination
of disappointment and relief.
Disappointment because I
had psyched myself up for a
new laptop. Relief because my
old laptop AND my old dad
continue to be part of my life.
And I can use the former to
write about silly arguments that
I have with the latter.
213 8.2
Levels as of
July 30, 2010
Wednesday 12:09am,12:22pm 7:18am, 7:18pm
Thursday 1:07am, 1:26pm 8:13am, 8:13pm
Friday 2:05am, 2:28pm 9:08am, 9:07pm
Saturday 3:01am, 3:27pm 10:00am, 10:01pm
Sunday 3:54am, 4:22pm 10:50am, 10:53pm
Monday 4:44am, 5:14pm 11:38am, 11:44pm
Tuesday 5:33am, 6:04pm ----------, 12:24pm
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