By Hannah Reich Berman

 People usually acquire more and more knowledge as they get older. A 6-year-old clearly has more smarts than a toddler, and a teenager knows more than a 10-year-old. And so it goes. Not only do we learn things in school year after year, but as time marches on, we gain more life experience.

For some people, however, most notably seniors, it does not always work out that way. The problem is that many older folks are in a race with technology and, for some–like me–technology is the clear winner. I offer as an example the fact that no sooner do I master what I need to know about my iPhone than a newer model comes out that has even more buttons to tap.

I still have not mastered the use of e‑mail on my phone; I’m only comfortable sending and reading e‑mail at home, while looking at the big monitor.

At one time, texting was also problematic for me. Then I discovered that it is not mandatory to text by using one’s thumbs only. That may be what most people do, but not me! My system is to use my pointer finger. It does not make me appear quite as sophisticated as I would like, but it gets the job done. And that is all that matters.

The other day, when I complained to a friend that I do not find it easy to text even using my index finger, she informed me that it is not necessary to press keys to send a text message. She said that I can simply speak into the phone and a text could be sent that way. Not only will my thumbs continue to remain at rest, but I can give my index finger some time off as well. When I explained to this friend that I must press keys to do texting because my phone does not have that capability, she insisted that I was wrong. She advised me to go to the Verizon store and ask for help.

So I decided to do just that, even though going to the Verizon store is not my favorite activity. Having been there so often, I am persona non grata! The reason I have visited the place so frequently is that there are always so many new things to learn that I have a tough time keeping up.

Two delightful young fellows man the store. They stand shoulder to shoulder behind the counter and, as nice as both of them are, when they see me walk in the door they appear to cringe. To their credit, they try not to show how unhappy they are to see me, but I can tell. I know the score! They would like to take flight, but since leaving the store unattended is not an option, the alternative is to stay and fight.

My clue to their distress is that as soon as they spot me, one of them suddenly gets very busy shuffling papers and the other one gets on the phone. On one occasion, when only one of the fellows was working, he ducked behind the counter as soon as he spotted me. I have no idea how long he intended to remain hidden, but just as I was about to say that I knew he was down there, a buzzer signaled that another customer had walked into the store so the poor kid had no choice but to surface. I let the other customer go first, and after he completed his purchase and left the store, the unhappy worker was forced to turn his attention to me.

For the past few months, I had been managing fairly well on my own. Well, to be candid, it has not been exactly on my own. When I have a problem, I go to my “techie” friend Wendy, and she helps me. But Wendy was not available that week, so I once again headed to the store to see what I could learn about sending texts by speaking into the phone. Maybe it was possible after all.

As is so often the case, as soon as I walked in, I saw the looks on the faces of the two employees–like deer caught in the headlights. But in this case it was talking deer, because I heard their whispers. Fellow number one said, “You take her,” and the other replied, “Oh no, I got her last time she was in; it’s your turn today!” This time they had decided not to flee, but to stay for the fight.

I’ve always wondered how it would feel to have two men fight over me. Now I know! Unfortunately, it is not quite how I envisioned the experience. I also know that Hubby would not be jealous. He would have a terrific laugh. That’s the way it is! v

Hannah Berman lives in Woodmere and gives private small-group lessons in mah-jongg and canasta. She can be reached at Savtahannah@aol.com or 516-902-3733.

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