By Scott Funk
posted
Oct 4, 2012
Recently, in a conversation at one of those networking events, I
was encouraged to, "Push it again, harder." I stared at the
person with a blank look on my face and then he said,
"Y'know: puusshh it hhhhaaaarrrrderrr."
My reply was, "I don't push it again, harder. If I can't push
whatever I am pushing on the first try, I give up. I go get my wife
and we push it together. If that doesn't work, we usually agree to
leave it where it is."
He stared at me for a few seconds with a blank look on his face
and said, "Right, whatever," and waved at an imaginary person
across the room while making his excuses to get away from me as
quickly as possible.
I don't know about the rest of you, but I feel tired when people
my age tell me they are training for a triathlon, biking to
Connecticut this weekend, just got back or are just about to head
off to the gym. Don't get me wrong, that people with as much or
more grey hair than mine want to swim across Lake Champlain, well
that's great. I am impressed. But let me get back to my gardening,
because just the thought of all that effort makes me tired.
Now, about networking, what happened to just meeting people?
Remember when you would go out and talk to people at professional,
club, church or social gatherings? The whole point was to have a
pleasant time. Maybe you would meet someone, maybe you
wouldn't.
Today, it's almost like auditioning for the circus. Everyone is
in high gear with their "elevator speeches" and their power-ties
and -blouses. You've got to keep in motion, stay upbeat, find the
common denominator, trade business cards (or bump smart phones),
and on to the next person. Around everyone goes until the hors
d'oeuvres run out or the bartender offers a merciful, "Last
call."
And smart phones, I hate the idea of smart phones. I've got one and
if it is so smart, why can't I figure out how to operate it? You'll
notice they didn't come out with a product called smart caller or
smart owner.
You want to know how smart these phones are? This is the truth:
I had one that wouldn't answer a call. The phone was ringing, but I
couldn't answer it. First, it wanted my password. The phone kept on
ringing. Then it wanted to know my plans and check my emails. The
phone was still ringing. Next, it somehow connected me to the
Internet and, finally, the phone stopped ringing.
To this day, I don't know who called. But I do know there is a fee
if you return a smart phone to the dealer, even right away, even if
the big sign over the register proclaims how important they think
you are. They want you to be happy, but as it turned out, not that
happy.
Sorry for the rant, but sometimes it helps just to let off a
little steam. After all, Aging in Place doesn't happen by
accident.
Scott Funk is Vermont's leading Aging in Place advocate,
writing and speaking around the state on issues of concern to
retirees and their families.
