Talk about taking a vow of silence!  The Hermit's hard drive crashed, so I'm stuck using the library's resources for accessing QuakerQuaker.  I can kind of check email via a data service on my cell phone for $15 a month, which costs less than a new computer.  (The old one is 5 years old, the RW/CD drive is dead and now the hard drive, so I don't see repairing it as an option.)  

The famous Kentucky writer and poet, Wendell Berry, refuses to let a computer in his house.  He hand writes his manuscripts, and Tanya (his very gifted wife who is an awesome pianist as well as the choir director at their church) types the manuscripts on a manual typewriter.  I have a manual typewriter, I just haven't been able to find ribbons for it yet.  However, that still won't help me navigate in cyberspace. 

I recall when my daughter was in high school and we were roaming one of the antique malls in Shelbyville, KY, and I showed her a manual typewriter.  It had a sheet of paper in it so folks could give it a try to see that it was fully functional.  So Emz typed away until she got to the end of the line, heard the little "ding," and then could type no further.  She asked me (are you ready for this?), "Where's the 'enter' key?"  I had to show her how to push the lever to make the carriage return and scroll up one line to continue her text. 

Last summer I was doing errands and got caught in a whopper of a thunderstorm.  When I got to the electric company to pay my bill, they couldn't take my payment because (are you ready for this?) the electricity was off! 

Oh, how dependent we have become.  Ever had the stupid computer in your car croak?  Not a cheap repair.  And your car will not run without it.  Oh for the days when I had VW Beetles.  I just made sure to always have a spare fan belt in the trunk. 

Many times I've threatened to get livestock and a cart!  Another idea is one of those adult tricycles, but they cost about $400, and then I'd have to buy the "tag along" accessory for Ziva (my Service Dog) to ride in. 

My son rides his bicycle all over Lexington, KY and refuses to own a car.  I don't have a car, and a disability pass for the LexTran buses is $15 for 30 days, and I can use it as much as I want.  I also walk A LOT.  $15 for 30 days sure beats car insurance, gasoline and maintenance expenses for owning a vehicle!  And Lexington, KY has the 7th worst drivers in the U.S., so auto insurance here is pricey.  When I moved here from Henry County, KY (where I lived down the road and around the corner from the afore mentioned Wendell Berry), my auto insurance rate doubled.  I popped into the Farm Bureau to ask about why my rates had increased and was told, "You don't live in Henry County anymore."  

Are we victims of our own modernization?  You betcha!