Computers

When I was in college, I had to take a course in computer programming as a requirement for my major. This would have been fine if the course was in “Basic” language, but the preferred language for mathematics was “Fortran IV.” Back then, computers had a “main frame” that took up a whole building and programs were written on “punch cards” that were produced on special machines. The first day of class, I knew I was in trouble. The teacher talked gibberish and the textbook seemed to be written in a foreign language. As hard as I tried, I had no idea what was going on and nobody could help me. When it came time to write our first program, everyone else had a nice stack of punch cards and a long computer print out of their program. I had a little pile of cards and one page of print out claiming “syntax error.” I had no idea what a “syntax error” was except the definition stating it was “an error in command causing a failure in execution.” Seeing Google and Wikipedia were years away, I had no idea what was wrong or where to look for answers.

Eventually, it was time for the final exam. Most of the students in the class thought the teacher was speaking the same gobbly-gook I had heard and their textbooks were written in the same foreign language as mine. I ended up being one of the few who even showed for the test. Not being about to flunk the majority of the class, the teacher passed anyone who showed up with at least the lowest possible grade. That meant I passed and was not required to retake the course.

Years later, after Pong and Atari home computers came on the market, they used “basic” language and I managed to understand that. I bought a VIC 20 and, although I used it mostly for games, I was actually able to write a little program. Eventually the VIC 20 became outdated and went the way of all outdated electronics-wherever that is.

For years, I avoided the computer world. Finally, my husband decided it would be beneficial to his business to own a computer with “Fax” capability. Soon our house was equipped with a keyboard, computer towers, screen and even a printer. My daughter, who was living in Nebraska while I was still in Pennsylvania, introduced me to “instant messaging” and I was hooked by being able to communicate with her without a huge long distance phone bill. I wandered around online and even wrote some stories to be saved for later. Then the computer became outdated and joined all my other electronics in never-never land. Of course, it took my stories with it.

Again, I found myself com-puterless. I was happily relying on my daughter, granddaughter and the library for the times I absolutely needed a computer and I could use the data on my phone if I just wanted to go online. Unfortunately, the world has decided this was not enough. I had to give up and now I am the owner of a laptop. At least I think that is what it is called.