[BillyCoxDodgers3B]

While I would have given anything to have been born about 70 years earlier to bear firsthand witness to so many things which matter to me, as a middle aged guy, I often think back in sheer gratitude that I was born when I was. My era has straddled so much interesting world development: sometimes wonderful, others scary.

To think I started out in a world where nobody I knew had a computer and still relied solely upon imagination to play as a child.

Devouring untold thousands of books as a teenager and young man as opposed to using a fairly useless internet that was just in its most basic infancy.

Understanding the immeasurable beauty of libraries and used book stores.

Travelling all over the world without a phone or GPS (or sometimes, even a functioning gas gauge); just good old Rand McNally to help me find my way. Getting lost on trips was time consuming, but it helped me to engage with people to ask for directions. Once in a while, I made a friend becuase of it.

Never making hotel reservations ahead of time was sometimes a pain when one couldn't be found, but a lot more freeing than having every moment of every day pre-planned because it "provides more security". Yeah, I've had to sleep in the odd church, farmer's fields or on a slab of concrete when a room wasn't in sight, but the stories are priceless!

Outside of work obligations, I tried having a cell phone once or twice, but it did nothing for me, so they never took. I spent years fighting the smart phone revolution, as I just saw rooms full of people not communicating with one another. While I'm no social butterfly, the whole thing just seemed rude and inward to me. Then, I got one. Now, I'm just like everyone else. I've adapted and am afraid that I'm so sucked in that it no longer bothers me quite as much as it truthfully should.

To the handful of guys here without such gadgets, I commend you. You're better people for it, and I have a feeling we just might get along if we ever met.