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Just One More Thing

By Staff | Jan 14, 2009

Obviously I’ve become spoiled or lazy or a combination of both. I am, after all, a busy, on-the-go kind of girl that still takes the time to bake bread and make spaghetti sauce from scratch. I freeze veggies from our garden and made grape juice from our very own grapes.

I don’t always look for the easy way out but evidently modern conveniences have made a bigger impact in my life then I would like to admit.

I came to this conclusion the other day while visiting a public restroom. I used the facilities and while pulling myself together I stepped away from the potty and nothing happened.

I stepped just a bit further away (I was in a stall and space is at a premium so I couldn’t get too far), and still nothing. Can you believe that I actually had to flush all by myself? Gosh you’d think a big outfit like Penn State could afford to place automatic flushers in The Bryce Jordan Center.

You’re not going to believe what happened next, but I had to turn the water on too. I waved my hands under the faucet several times and nothing happened. There wasn’t an automatic paper towel dispenser either. It’s a wonder I had the energy to return to my seat and enjoy the rest of the basketball game.

I really shouldn’t be surprised by my expectance that automation be a part of every facet of my life. I had a moment a few weeks ago when I made a trip to Clarkstown. I stopped at Lowe’s and as I prepared to make an entrance to the store the door automatically opened for me.

My next stop was Ben Franklin and it took a few seconds of standing at the door to realize if I wanted to enter I would have to open the door the old fashion way, myself. I felt pretty stupid but not as stupid as when I left with my purchases and again waited for the door to magically swing open.

I’m fortunate to open doors, flush and turn on a faucet-it’s just kind of nice to have technology take care of the little things once in a while. I’m waiting for someone to invent a grocery bag that gets itself in from the car and automatically puts all the items away for me. On the positive side I am learning to embrace technology and that’s a pretty big step for me.