There must be an 'app' for that.....

  I rounded the corner of the bread aisle at my favorite local food store. Two ladies, and I will assume they were mothers, were talking.

   “My son has been called to the office three times this week for misbehavior in class. I don't know what's going on. This year he has been terrible.”

   The other mom listened with interest and then responded. “ My son was suspended from school last week for two days. He was accused of swearing at the teacher. When I asked him about it, all he said was that she deserved it. I don't know what to do.”

   The first mom continued to express her frustration. “I just don't know what's happening. He has always been a good student and very well behaved. I guess I need some help. Maybe there's a app for that!”

   I quickly turned my head to see the two mothers, cell phones in hand, trying to find an 'app' about .........adolescent boys and their bad behavior? Look it up under “it's the father's fault”. I quickly put two loaves of bread in my shopping cart and moved on. Was there really an 'app' for that?

   I have several home repair and upgrade projects going on  right now that require some fresh paint. At the paint store, I found the color I wanted, but before the sales person mixed the paint to get 'just the right color' he asked me if it was new wood I would be painting and if so, had I primed it or would I be needing paint that already had the primer as part of the mixture. He must have picked up on the expression on my face.

   “Which method is better?” I asked.

   “I'm not really sure,” was his response. He was young. “Let me look it up. There must be an 'app' for that.” Within minutes we had the answer.

   I currently have this crazy little job for a few weeks that requires some driving and with the price of gasoline fluctuating all over the place, I try to find the best buy at the best price. Yes, there is an 'app' for that. The question is ….do I drive 7 miles out of my way to save a penny or two, wasting gas on the extra miles just to save a few cents at the pump? There must be an 'app' for that too!

   As I look back, to the days before cell phone and computers, I wonder how we made any decisions at all. Don't get me wrong. I like having the ability to seek out any and almost all information by typing in a word or phrase, finding an app or just asking Siri. She must be really smart. But I do sometimes miss the challenge of researching a topic on my own.

   Siri....who should I vote for in the election on Tuesday? And her response? “I don't know who is running. You may want to check out the ads on your local cable TV channel.”

   Several weeks ago there was a box of books that were going up for auction. It was an 'almost' complete set of an encyclopedia. I think it was missing volume “M”. Am I the only one who remembers World Book or Britannica? How about the Book of Knowledge?

   I actually remember purchasing my first set of encyclopedias. The color of the cover was blue with gold letters down the spine, spelling out WORLD BOOK ENCYCLOPEDIA. For and extra amount of money, one could also purchase a book shelf, designed to proudly display all the knowledge that was known at the time of publication. Now I just take my cell phone out of my pocket and put it down on the dining room table. My little phone has everything I need to know.

   I recently went into a local sandwich shop to pick up a bite to eat. It was a Tuesday. The place was full of high school kids. Back in my days in school we were not allowed to leave the building  during the day. I think the administration thought we might get into trouble. Little did they know.

   There was not one kid sitting at a table or standing in line who was not playing a game or texting on a cell phone. I wish I could get my fingers to move as fast as some of the kids were able to do. One of the boys shouted to another across the table about a new game he had just found and within only seconds almost everyone stopped what they were doing to search for the new game. I wonder if they attack their homework each night with the same speed and enthusiasm. There has got to be an app for that....how do get your homework done and not really do it!

   I asked one of the kids what his favorite app was. iFunny was his response. At any time of the day the app sends a random funny picture and you vote whether you like it or not.

   Silly me, but I had to ask the question. What happens if you are in class at the time? His response was that if the picture is funny he laughs very quietly but if it's a good one he shows the teacher. The teacher has the app on her phone too. My how times have changed.

   I don't have many apps on my phone. I can barely use it to make phone calls and it is only been recently that I have started to text. (And I don't really need to know how to spell thank goodness!) But I will admit there have been times while waiting for a doctor's appointment that having Angry Birds has helped to pass the time. My goal is still to get out of the beginner's level. There must be an app for that too!