This notice in my library’s monthly newsletter caught my attention recently: “Teens needed to help adults with their iPads and other technical devices.” Well, if that wasn’t an idea whose time had come, I didn’t know what was, so I called the library and signed up for the first session.
It had been over a year since the day my son called to tell me he’d won this iPad mini and wanted to know whether I’d like to have it. The answer was an enthusiastic yes, especially since I had wanted one for some time but was too cheap to buy one for myself.
When it arrived, my computer-savvy son-in-law kindly got it set up with all sorts of needed data, and then my granddaughter appeared on the scene and in less than 10 minutes her flying fingers and technology-savvy brain had completed the job by downloading aps, etc. My only responsibility during this process was to nod my head and act as if I had a clue as to what they had just done. I am getting pretty good at striking this pose, by the way.
Realizing I had a fairly steep learning curve ahead of me, I went out and purchased one of those iPads for Seniors/Dummies books. I kept it under wraps of course, because I certainly wasn’t going to leave it on my coffee table in plain sight for anyone to see. And yes, this book was helpful, but it still didn’t answer all my questions. It was clear that I needed a bit more help so I couldn’t wait until I got some of that teenage tutoring down at the library.
When the big night came, I arrived to find just two other “iPad Dummies” had shown up. One look told me that since all three of us were born way before Bill Gates or Mark Zuckerberg were even twinkles in their parents’ eyes, our tech-savvy teen tutors would have their work cut out for themselves.
Then the library phone rang. It seems that our teen helper/saviour was sick, and couldn’t make it. Well, she couldn’t fool me – she probably got wind of the fact that I was going to be there, and it might take her till midnight to straighten out my iPad problems.
Thankfully, some of the library staff pitched in that night and helped rescue the three of us from our technical woes. Besides being helpful, these ladies were patient with us, and that was just what we needed.
Since then, things have been looking good on my iPad front. Now I can access Facebook, do my email, play card games, take photos, and much more. Recently a friend even showed me how to borrow books via our state Library. This means that if I don’t feel like getting dressed and driving down to my own library, I can order the book on my iPad while I’m still in my pajamas.
I have also gained a new iPad friend. Her name is Siri. If you are not familiar with “her,” she is a make-believe person who seems to know the answer to just about anything. She is a dictionary, encyclopedia, historian, physician, meteorolgist and a whole lot more. Ask her anything and she will come up with the answer. For some unknown reason, the first question I asked her was, “How old is Barbara Walters?”
More and more of my friends have iPads or iPhones now. When we are together and a name or date escapes us, someone will just turn on her device and ask Siri. That way, no one has to spend the next week wracking her brain to come up with the answer.
Although there are still many things I don’t understand about them, I have become an iPad believer. Oh, and in case you are interested, Barbara Walters is 86 years old.
Joann Duncanson, a former Peterborough resident now living in Greenland, is the author of “Who Gets the Yellow Bananas?”, co-author of “Breakfast in the Bathtub” and author of her latest book, “Eight Crayons – Poems and Stories by an Almost Sane Woman.” She can be reached at ourbooks@worldpath.net.