Getting to Know You!

My first experience with a computer was staring at a blinking cursor. The computer was there looking at me, as if to say, "What are you going to do?" I remember typing something like an algebraic equation and "presto!" something appeared on the screen after a few moments! I was both fascinated and a bit underwhelmed at the same time.

There was of course the other box - the television. I remember watching the Captain Kangaroo show as a child. This was of course long before the advent of Skype, so I reached out with my imagination having long conversations with both Captain Kangaroo and Mr. Green Jeans. Fast-forward a few years and my wife is looking over my shoulder as I write this reminding me that I should write young. Yes, and she is always right. Anyone ever hear of Pong? Pong is like the great grand daddy of interactive games. My brothers and I played it for hours on our large console TV - it was before the blinking cursor, it was great! Pong was way, way better than those vibrating football games that carried a felt football. OK, write young. So, here goes!

Oops, I'll rewind just a little bitsey bit more, OK? I remember a friend who had been very excited about completing his education in keypunch. The only problem was that about the time my friend graduated from learning keypunch cards for computers, software programming was born. I still remember the look on his face as he decided to join the Navy and leave the world of computers behind him.

Over the years, I watched the personal computer continue to evolve. Some of the first desktop computers would make someone a great boat anchor. I bought one of these boat anchors and took it apart to see how it fit together. I managed to get it back together and get everything working again. I had around that time went to work for a company that had bought a new desktop computer, but wasn't sure what to do with it. There was very limited software and only a few commands. I was one of the company's sales persons, but recall color coding the keys of the keyboard and writing instructions on what keys to type and what it would do. This was of course a chance for me to say "Hello, computer!" and discover what was under the hood of the newest technology.

I remember the office staff, the way they looked at the computer and kept their distance some. It was sort of like the Norman Rockwell painting " The Street was never the Same Again". Yep.