On Steve Jobs and the Printed Word

In honor of Steve Jobs I thought I would blog about technology and the way it has affected me and those I love.   

Karl and I never had a cell phone until we got married in 2003.  We shared the first one.  I remember he teased me about programming all my family members in the precious 2, 3, and 4 spots for one-button dialing.  Number 1 has always been for voicemail.  We had a really old computer for the first 3 years of our marriage, and then I got him a DELL for his birthday.  I can remember when the internet was invented.  I was in middle school…in reality I guess it could have been earlier, but I remember learning about it in middle school.  People were debating the disappearance of the post…much like the latest buzz about the vanishing of printed books. 

I want to share a small detail about two of the people I love the most who are among the reason why “snail mail” and “paper-books” will always exist.  My husband, Karl is an avid sports fan and collector.  He has huge boxes in his “man cave” full of all sorts of sports cards.  He is constantly buying and trading these cards, and he usually makes a trip to the post office about once a week.  He will forever be using the “old-fashioned” way to send things, but he is also grateful to sights like ebay and Sports Card Forum for ways to trade and buy with people all over the world.  He does miss entering his favorite card shop in Elgin, Illinois (Shoebox Memorabilia), and he does occasionally visit the shop in North Austin.   

My mother is a fabulous person for many reasons, but one of my favorite things about her is that she has a library card and probably checks out a book once a week.  She will never own a kindle or a nook.  She, like many, enjoys the feel of a book in her hands and the smell of paper.  She spends her whole day staring at a computer screen and would not enjoy having to do that to escape into her latest reading adventure.   She even had my dad print out my 486 page manuscript so that she didn’t have to read it off her screen. There will always be printed books because of people like my mom.

I am thankful for all the people like Steve Jobs and the technology that makes our lives easier and more informed.  I am also thankful for those who work hard to deliver our beloved packages and handwritten notes.  I am especially grateful to agents and publishers everywhere who help writers get their polished work into the hands of many.