Like In The Good Old Days

My internet connection went down last Wednesday.
I don't know exactly what happened, but Verizon has been very good about doing what they could to get things back up. I spoke with technical support people who were native English speakers. They were patient and checked actual repair orders and verified that repairs were happening at 1:00 am. Right now they have arranged me a dial up connection at no cost so I can at least check email and keep in touch.
I have been adrift for almost a week. I don't count myself a techie by any means, but I get most of my news and weather forecasts from the internet. I don't have a television nor do I listen to radio much at all. I'm certainly not anti-social nor unsociable. I'm self employed and have no employees. I don't hang out in the coffee shop.
I remember buying my first computer. I can't remember the technical specifications, but now a microwave has more computer inside. At the time, I thought the kids would like to use it for homework assignments. The first one used 3.5 inch floppy discs. They were much better than the 5 inch ones. Soon came CD's. Who imagined DVD's full of information and entertainment? I remember when internet service was first offered here. I was one of the first couple dozen in town to sign up.
And the internet? It was touted as a way to swap recipes and to chat to family. Who predicted billions of dollars changing hands on E-bay?
I have benefited from the growth and evolution of the computer and internet. I can research and make better business and personal decisions. I can research and make better buying choices, both personal and business related.
One experience; I was arranging T-shirts for the Venture Crew. I phoned Stacie at the embroidery shop. She was making similar shirts for the Scout troop. While we were on the phone, she emailed me a couple of designs. I looked at them and chose the fish design, in green. She said OK, I'll make them. Elapsed time, 3 minutes. Once upon a time, I would have had to drive 40 miles, look at a book of designs, pick one, and drive home. Two hours spent, gasoline burned, etc.
In the last week, I didn't have a weather forecast. I went out for a run Saturday and got rained on. Just a brief shower. I missed an email saying a Scout meeting had been canceled.
I hadn't thought about how comfortable I've become with all this communication and information at hand. But I am glad to have it. Even as I wonder how much more can be coming and where will it end.