It might be time to change MY batteries!

This morning I hooked-up a new telephone system for the house. Besides being an answering machine and having an intercom system between three hand sets, it also has Bluetooth capacity. Since my sister spends more time in the house, I paired her cell phone with the device so she wouldn't have to carry it around with her upstairs and downstairs. Diane isn't the most electronically savvy person. She can do most anything, but for some reason this Bluetooth connection just isn't "connecting" with her. She received a couple calls, couldn't hear on the handsets and finally asked me to "disconnect" her.

I am reading the manual and started to think how complicated we make our lives in the pursuit of conveniences. A month or so ago I was driving home and was preoccupied and upset with the events of the day, my cell rang in my vehicle. I have a Bluetooth connection on the dashboard. I missed the call because I couldn't remember which button to push to receive the connection. I remembered after the call went to voicemail. Between our computers, GPS, TV's, DVRs, stereos, telephones, security systems, pre-programmed devices on all of our appliances, iPods, iPhones, and Blackberries, it sometimes gets confusing.

Am I confused because I have too many devices? Or, am I confused because I've gotten older and can no longer assimilate into i-electronic age? Where is George Jetson when I need him!

I love those devices that take my voice commands. Unfortunately I do not speak clearly enough to have my command followed on the first attempt. "Call MaryHelen" becomes "Call Mandy Allen"; "Call Bea's Cell" becomes "Call Beasly's". I yell at the lady on the phone, I yell at the GPS lady all of the time and I wonder why these devices do not have men's voices? I do believe that as we get older, as we become more set in our ways, we become less willing to take on new technology.

I am reminded of my parents, many moons and mango seasons ago, as we desperately tried to bring them into the realm of available technology. Mom and Dad were around for the first generation of "Life Call"; we got them the "I've fallen and can't get up" connection. The home base of the system was set up in their bedroom. The living room, where they spent much of their time was adjacent to the bedroom. With the television on and both of them sitting in their respective recliners, Dad turned to Mom and asked "what?". Surprised, Mom shook her head, "I didn't say anything". "Are you sure?" retorted Dad. A few moments passed and Mom turned to Dad, "I told you I didn't say anything." "Well I didn't say anything either." Surprised, Dad muted the television and they both heard "someone" calling, "Robert? Antoinette? Are you all right? Do you need assistance? Robert? Antoinette?." Looking at each other they finally realized that the voice was coming from their bedroom and their Life Call system. Somehow, one of them had inadvertently "pressed" the alert button hanging around their neck. I am quite certain that those systems get a lot of "false alarms".

Another incident with the parents' learning curve with technology involved a smoke detector. Not the most technological device, but it had batteries and "magically" responded to smoke thereby falling into Mom and Dad's definition of technology. My brother Bob and I got a request to check out their bedroom. Mind you, the parents did not suspect the smoke detector. Bob and I were told that there was a "cricket" in the room and it was keeping them awake at night.

After a couple of glasses of wine, Bob and I entered the room for the big hunt. We both acknowledged that we heard the "cricket" (I need to point out here that Bob was a firefighter). We carefully spread out in the room, pulling back drapery and peering behind furniture. As we followed the sound we found ourselves face to face in the entry to the room. As we both looked up we realized that we were hearing the smoke detector's waning battery. I do know now when those "crickets" show up that it's time to change the smoke detector batteries.

Yes I do think that as we get older we become less compatible with the changes in technology. I don't think it is because we don't understand, but it's that we don't want to change. Maybe we need our batteries changed as well.