GENTRY — In addition to telling me quite frequently that I am a bit stubborn and set in my ways, Mrs. Griz sometimes tells me I’m just opposed to change. But that’s just not true. I’m not opposed to change. Sometimes the old ways are better than the new.
I’ve written before about my preference for film photography over digital. That doesn’t mean I’m opposed to digital. I shoot digital most of the time - it works better for newspaper publishing and has a number of advantages - but film has a place for those who are looking for artistic quality. So, I don’t mind change as long as I can still do some things the old way.
I don’t think I’d ever want to go back to producing newspapers without the use of computers and electronic files. When I started working at publishing newspapers, we manually pasted together our pages. I readily accepted change and began building pages electronically just as soon as I could convert all the ads to electronic files.
Speaking of computers, I grew up in a time when computers were something that only the government and major research institutions had in their possession. They were huge and bulky - not something a fellow could set on his desk. Times changed quickly, and I’ve accepted that change and spend a good deal of time using these new modern machines. In fact, I typed this on a netbook instead of writing it out with a pen and notebook while I sit in my easy chair and connect with the Internet wirelessly. So, don’t tell me I resist change.
And with the advent of the Worldwide Web, I soon staked a claim in cyberspace and began posting files andphotos there. I’m not exactly sure where in cyberspace my files actually exist, but I pay rent for it and can see what’s there by keying in the right Web address.
I was even brave enough to change over my computers’ operating systems to a Linux program - not that hard but a bold step for a guy who grew up in the precomputer age and supposedly doesn’t like change. I just couldn’t see why I should pay for every program I use when there is so much open software available to Linux users.
Incidentally, it was Mrs. Griz who wasn’t so fond of the changes I made on her computer and had me change it back and re-install a Windows-based operating system so she could find her files and play the same version of Solitaire that she was accustomed to playing.
Though I did resist change just a little bit in regard to my cellular telephone - I even swapped out the SIM cards and switched back to my older and more basic phone a few times because it worked better for what phones used to be made for, making and receiving calls - at Mrs. Griz’ urging I updated my old phone to a new one with a full keyboard and all the modern features. I’m not saying I know how to use all the features, and change is a little scary.
Somehow, unknown to me, my phone called Mrs. Griz from the holster on my belt while I was in the restroom. She laughed at me and I was embarrassed, but I mostly was hoping I didn’t somehow make a conference call or send photos or video to all my contacts. If so, I’m sorry. Give me a year or two; I’ll figure out how to use this new gadget.
Some might say I resist change because I still like the King James Version of the Bible and use it rather than all the new and modern Bible translations available today. It’s not that I’m opposed to change. I just haven’t found the new translations as reliable and accurate as the good old KJV. I’d rather look up an occasional old English word than be mislead by a modern one.
When it comes to hymn books, I might be a bit moreresistant to change. It’s not that I don’t like some of the new music; I just don’t like it when they change the words, tunes or harmony parts of the old. If folks would only consider how long it took me to learn to sing the hymns the old way, they wouldn’t so freely change a little here and a little there to confuse me.
Those of you who regularly read my columns already know how I feel about all the changes in our government. Not all change is good, and that’s especially true when it comes to throwing away the Constitution, the rights it guarantees and the form of government it instituted. Some folks vote for the candidates who promise the most change. Me, I would vote for the candidate who promised to get rid of all the change and take us back to the form of government outlined in the Constitution. The problem is finding any candidate whose platform is anti-change and for restoring constitutional government.
Then, of course, we could talk about the many changes in the moral fabric of our nation and people. I can’t say I approve of the changes in that category either. I happen to believe in morals based on unchanging absolutes - namely, the Bible and God’s Ten Commandments. Absolutes don’t change. Of course, if they did, they wouldn’t be absolute.
It seems, too, that the way people think has changed. I can’t say that modern thought makes much sense to me. If it weren’t so sad, I’d have to laugh at the foolishness of much of it. Some of the things people do and say are a bit unbelievable and certainly irrational. But, then again, there are those who probably feel that way about me and the things I say and do.
And so, is Mrs. Griz right? Am I stubborn and set in my ways? Well, perhaps just a little. But that doesn’t mean I am opposed to change.
In some cases I welcome change, in other cases I oppose it, and there are a number of other cases where change might be OK if they’d just hold off long enough for me to be dead and gone and not have to deal with it!
Opinion, Pages 5 on 12/02/2009