I have zoom, and search
My days aren’t always in lockstep with the rest of the family. I didn’t go to work today (and drive a forklift, although I have). I didn’t wander through a long idyllic visit to a sugar maple shack, or the workshop of a luthier. I didn’t even chase a squirrel that chose to sit next to me on the step (a true story; our dog has to accept that I’ll mention his more careless moments).
No, I did things closer to home. I adapted our order for some finishing work outside (required dragging a measuring tape along with me). I prepared an interesting meal (OK, actually very ordinary, but the challenge was to hunt in the freezer instead of obeying my primal urge to shop). I did some time travel.
Don’t scrunch up your forehead like that. Not very mysterious: now that more and more old newspapers are available online, I can read about places and things from before my time. The investigations into odd traffic accidents. The strange calculations of ownership when it comes to a family farm. A tribute to every farmer that ever went to town on business.
I like reading papers, now that microfilm is removed from the equation. I have zoom, and search, and the ability to leave my chair without a busybody library worker clearing my workspace. And when I have an idea, there’s no need to rewind the current reel and seek out another, only to discover that my original “crankup” had been correct. If this had been available, a generation ago, I’d have closed many of my brick walls in research before my vision became an issue.
