Yes, I remember life before the Internet. I was born in 1953. Computers were tales of science fiction fantasy, not a daily fact.
Growing up without instant communication meant a slower, more comfortable way of life. I needed to wait for letters in answer to the ones I wrote. I needed to go to the library for help with my homework. I went outside and got valuable Vitamin D, which I didn’t know I was getting as I spent hours sledding and skating in winter and swimming in summer. The only time I spent inside was when the weather prohibited me from being out there. My adventures were found in books, not Kindles. I turned the pages and absorbed the words that brought life to my imagination.
Life meant getting in the car and going to Grandmas house, or on vacation in the north woods of Wisconsin. Life meant experiencing it first-hand with physical contact with people, places, and things. It meant exploring, not with a trip through Internet websites, but in nature: walking and talking to real people face to face.
Life meant playing board games, cards, and physically interacting with friends until someone proclaimed victory in the real estate they bought, and you went bankrupt, in marching around a board looking for clues to whodunit, making your way across a checkered board. Fun found in simple things, in smiles and laughter.
I experienced life, not by keystroke, but by physical interaction with people and nature. It was an exciting time, now a passing memory as my life has become more sedentary. I need to remind myself to get outside, take a walk and enjoy nature and people once again. I need to push myself away from the computer, and enjoy those simple pleasures again.
What was your life like before the Internet? Was there such a time for you or were you born in this era of fast communication? Let me know in the comments. Thanks for reading. The image belongs to me.
valerie writes 
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