A Herd of One

When I was younger, somebody accused me of being a non conformist. I had to think about it for a moment before responding that I didn't think of myself as a non conformist, I preferred to think of myself as an individualist. I don't do what I do because others are doing it, but I don't refrain from doing it because others are doing it either. I just do what I do whether others are doing it or not. When you think about it, though, almost every idea we get comes from other people, but just because you get an idea doesn't mean you have to act on it.

I don't have a cell phone because I have no practical use for one. I bought one once when our regular phone service went out for five days. Just as I was about to use it to call the phone company, their truck drove up to our house. After a brief conversation, the guy drove away to fix the problem. I was outside when he came back and asked me if our phone was working now. Rather than go back into the house to check, I used my new cell pone to call my hypothetical wife on our regular phone to find out that our regular phone was indeed working. That was the only time I ever used that cell phone. I gave it to my grand daughter six months later so she could use up my prepaid minutes before they expired. I think a cell phone would be handy if a person spent a lot of time on the road, which I don't. If I break down between here and Cheboygan, somebody will surely stop and help me before long. If not, I might be able to walk home, but maybe not. I am no spring chicken anymore you know. When  my mother was my age, she kept a cell phone in her car for emergencies. I don't think she ever used it, but it made her feel safer having it just in case. Maybe I'll look into getting a cell phone next fall, right after I get my flu shot.

Last night I got to poking around in my Gmail, and I found the original "welcome" message that I got when I first established my account on May 28, 2013. Apparently I never deleted it, maybe because I don't remember receiving it. In those days I was running my Gmail through my Windows Mail, or whatever they were calling the old Outlook Express at the time. I could never make that program work on the computer that I bought in 2016, so I have been just using the Gmail program directly. I was surprised to find that old message, but I'm glad that I did. Next time that smart alecky Google Machine asks me when I established my account, I can tell it. I wouldn't be surprised, though, if it just found another excuse to deny me access. Call me "paranoid", but I think that machine is out to get me. Stupid Google Machine!