Some OGs feel social media, along with the internet, is the Antichrist

On Jan. 29, The Old Men of the Mountain traveled to the Chuck Wagon Diner in Princetown.

The OMOTM are getting glad to see January go. There was a short discussion about the end of January.  Is the end of January still in the beginning of winter? According to Wikipedia, the start of winter in 2019 is Dec. 21, and the beginning of spring is March 20, so this scribe thinks we are smack-dab in the middle of the astrological winter.

So far the woolly bear caterpillar has been wrong. This little creature is the OFs’ gauge of winter — darn it, so far this one woolly bear has missed it! Maybe the OF who found the all-black caterpillar had the right critter.

The OMOTMs core base is getting older and older, driving is becoming a chore, and some have given it up completely. Some have had their kids take the car keys away, and some can’t twist their necks around to see what is coming.

Macular degeneration is also a problem. So far, these OFs are still able to make the breakfast because of those that still have their faculties (and may be younger) and they enjoy the friendship and knowledge of the older OFs, so they gather them up and bring them to the breakfast.

Tech savvy

Because we are the OMOTM, does not mean the OFs cannot keep up with at least a good part of the current technology. In the age group of 80 to 90 year olds, the OFs have cell phones and know how to use them.

Those in these same age groups have computers and tablets and know how to use them too. This comes as a surprise to some of the younger people. The OFs don’t know if it is because the OFs are smarter than people give them credit for in the tech area, or these things are really not that complicated.

One OF in his nineties said his computer was old and some of the new programs would not work on it, so he decided to purchase a new one. The OF just wanted to do simple stuff so he found a computer that was not that expensive, but when the charges for this that and the other thing, including some newer programs were added to the price of the computer, the OF said to heck with it and didn’t make the purchase. He would deal with his old friend.

Another OF summed up the cellphone very appropriately. The OF said that the iPhone is not a phone. “It is a computer with a predisposed phone app as standard equipment,” he said.

The OF made this comment as he was showing a video taken on his phone of another OF. The OF he was showing it to was performing (he’s a singer) a few months ago and this OF recorded the act on his phone.

This scribe receives much information from the OFs via their iPhones on his computer, and vice-versa: Much of what this scribe sends out goes to the OFs’ phones.

There is a very large “however” to all this technology. This scribe feels the report of some of the OGs is that they feel social media, along with the internet, is the Antichrist because it seems to be loaded with the bad, as well as the good, and sometimes it is hard to sift out which is which.

New songs don’t register with OFs

This next topic might cause some tee-heeing among the younger crowd because it concerns music. Basically, the OFs were wondering when what they knew as music became just noise.

The OFs remember music having melody, rhythm, and a tune that was hum-able. Now it seems to be who can screech the loudest with just a hint of vibrato. That is the singer of choice.

One OF said that there are some nice songs being written today — but not many. Another OF asked, “Name one right off the bat,” but no one could. However, they could name the old classics.

Another OF asked, “How many songs written today do you think will be sung 50 years from now?”

A second OF said, “Maybe some of the tunes written for musical plays will be.”  Well, we will just have to wait and see.

Then another OF said he thought that as the OFs drive home from breakfast, they would remember songs, but he thought even those would be older songs.

Pricey wheels

Sunday, around noon, there was a TV show that showed some very high-priced vehicles brought up for auction. The OFs said there has to be a lot of money around only they don’t have any.

These vehicles were going for hundreds of thousand dollars, and even into the millions. The OFs started mentioning cars they had years ago and what they would be worth today if they had taken care of them and could see into the future.

Some of the OFs had Packards, Studebakers, Hudsons, even Jaguars, and especially model A’s, old Chevys, old Fords, and Plymouths — the list goes on and on.

But one OF said most of these cars were not old. This OF declared that, for him, once a vehicle entered the collectable stage, he would be afraid to drive it. Then what was he going to do — stay home and look at it? To him, it was a waste of money.

Those OFs who made it to the Chuck Wagon in Princetown in regular, standard cars and trucks and were just as happy, and they were: Bob Giebietz, Roger Chapman, George Washburn, Robie Osterman, Bill Lichliter, Roger Shafer, Chuck Aelesio, Ray Frank, John Rossmann, Wally Guest, Harold Guest, Otis Lawyer, Mark Traver, Glenn Patterson, Joe Rack, Mace Porter, Jack Norray, Gerry Irwin, Rev. Jay Francis, Elwood Vanderbilt, Allen DeFazzo, Harold Grippen, and me.