Sure, maybe we were riding on the coattails of Dad’s interest in computers. Nevertheless, with Mom & Dad’s help, I had access to computers when many friends of mine did not. It all started on a table in the basement in Henning with two file cabinets and a big homemade table-top for our Apple II-e. I remember that I worked on my big report on “Killer Whales” on our home computer, and thought it looked sooo sharp to print it out on our dot-matrix printer with the paper that fed through on tracks. I still have that report somewhere.
When I was in college and grad school and had my own computer, it allowed me to… well, to tinker. You don’t want to sit in a computer lab somewhere and just tinker around to make something just right. But with a computer sitting in my room, I improved my writing skills, my editing skills, and my design skills by tinkering around like it was a game. Plenty of my peers were still intimidated by computers and were slow to learn the features of Microsoft Word or other software. It became an advantage for me, and in each job I’ve had I’ve been known as someone who is a savvy user of the computer and can answer lots of questions, can communicate with techies, and can solve problems with software.
At home we have our family calendar and address book on Google. We keep our recipes, photos, and records on the computer, and of course use a blog to stay connected with family and friends. I can’t imagine what technological advances Lilly will have the opportunity to use during her life. I hope we can give her a head start like I got growing up with a computer in our house.
I had to throw Atari on the list as well—it’s not the same thing as having a computer, but at least I played some video games in my lifetime. How could I have an interest in a silly game like “Grand Theft Auto” when I know the joy of Asteroids, Space Invaders, Pitfall Jack, and Donkey Kong?
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