When Will The Apple I PHONE 19 Be Availabe?

My son's phone conveniently stopped working the other day.  Ironically, the I Phone 5 was introduced just about the same time.  Coincidence?  He did have to upgrade to the I Phone 4 since it was being offered free of charge.  My phone still flips open.  I'm OK with that.

When my oldest daughter started grade school, there was a school open house we attended.  The teacher said, "We just can't imagine how these children will be learning in the future.  What tools will they have?"  This was just about 20 years ago.  Can that teacher even fathom what technology had in store for those kids?  This was before the internet was introduced. My daughter was the first class of students who would eventually learn to fast forward and rewind their videos. 

While I was updating my son's phone, I remembered that day in either late '79 or early 1980.  Dick Cavett was on the car radio.  I was sitting in my yellow Cutlass Supreme in my parent's driveway.  Cavett was a spokesperson for a company called, "Apple."  "Someday everyone will have a computer at their desk," said Cavett during the commercial.   At dinner later that night, I asked my dad if he would chip in with me to buy shares of Apple.  He said, "No. Never give your money to a stranger."  You know the rest.  That conversation still haunts me in the night.

As I signed off on my son's new phone, I thought how lucky he was to keep up with the latest technology.  I was grateful that I could afford to help him stay current.  I've been acting as though I'm too old to learn.  I don't want to learn about apps.  I was the one who went kicking and screaming into the world of the word processor.  Damn.  I had just gotten new ink for my IBM Selectric Typewriter.  The soft blue one.  

The salesman suggested I look into a new phone at the end of this year.  It's a cross between a tablet and large screen phone.  They call it a, "Fablet."  I wonder what the world of technology will be like 14 years from now when Blago leaves prison.  Will there be an I Phone 19?  Will he be too old to learn the new tricks?  I'll be the same age as he will be.  I don't want to be that old and not care.

I'm grateful that I'm due for an upgrade. 

"Jealousy...Belongs To Reasonable Men."

I'm staring at this week's edition of, "Parade Magazine," in the Chicago Tribune.  There are the Obamas.  They look happy, beautiful, content.  The photo says, "Life has been good to us.  We are on top of the world.  What we have is golden." :)



I'm grateful that I'm not Blago or his wife, who have to open the paper this morning and see the couple staring right back at him.  I'm thinking that they're thinking, "If only Obama had come from another state. If only I hadn't joked around about that Senate seat. Life was good to us.  We were on top of the world.  What we had was truly F-ing golden. That could have been us." :(



Imagine that perfect family or person you know.  They have everything.  It's normal to be jealous.  Yes, you remind yourself of all you have. You move on.  But even Aristotle pointed out that, "Jealousy is both reasonable and belongs to reasonable men."  Thankfully, we don't have to see that perfect person we know on the news each night, in the paper each day.  We don't see their perfect family sharing adventures around the world.  Blago endures this every day.  No peace of mind.



"He who envies others does not obtain peace of mind." (Buddha)  I'm grateful for my peace of mind.

One Summer Down and 13 To Go.

My favorite spot in Chicago is Buckingham Fountain when it's lit up.  I adore the view.  This summer I managed to get there only once.  What a shame.  I think it was Eddy Murphy who said that if we're lucky, we might experience 75 summers.  Those are fleeting moments.  I did my best to soak it all in, but I could have done more.  I was, however, truly grateful for each of those days spent outdoors.  I regret not swimming at the local community pool.  Next summer.

Nice to look forward to another summer so I can make a mental list of all things possible.  Patti Blagojevich put an anniversary letter from hubby on her Facebook page.  In it he quotes Robert Browning, "the best is yet to be."  And then he asks, "What are you doing next year at this time?"  I love the optimism. But, "Never the time and the place and the loved one all together."  (Robert Browning)

This morning I was, "struck by the splendour of a sudden thought."  (Browning!) Autumn winds are blowing into Chicago.  Love the change of seasons.  Cozy sweaters, pumpkin bread, colors all around.  Blago can't take that all in.  I'm grateful I'll be able to.