Reboot!

 

Alexa, play Beethoven. “Shuffling music

by Ludwig von Beethoven” she says back to

me. I wait...and nothing. I repeat my request

and she claims to be shuffling again. And

nothing again. Hmmm, What the hell?

What has she got against Beethoven today?

Alexa, play Franz Liszt. “Shuffling music

by Franz Liszt...” And again, nada. I tried

three other composers with the same results,

silence...So, I look up Amazon Help Center

and give them a call.

A nice young chap listened to my problem

and asked me to unplug my device. “Then

plug it back in,” he directed me. Be patient,

I told him. I’m disabled and it takes me

awhile to get around. Let me put the phone

down and hobble over to the plug...There,

I got it.

Alexa has a blue circling light. Shall I

try my request again? “Go ahead,” he

said. Well, what do you know, she’s

working now. She just needed to reboot.

Ah, the answer to all our problems in this

high-tech day and age—Reboot! The ninth,

tenth, eleventh and twelfth Wonders of the

Modern World—Reboot!

One of these days in the not too distant

future, some time soon after my passing

from this Earth, Light Speed Technology

will be able to correct just about any

human ailment or malady as you sit in the

comfort of your own home. The instant

remedy will be to simply unplug yourself

and allow your entire molecular bio-system

to reboot.

Old farts such as I who have survived until

that day will be simply amazed. The

younger generations who grew up with

such advanced technology will merely

shrug their shoulders and figure life has

always been this way. All the misfires

of humanity will be wiped away.

For them, as far as they are concerned,

Neil Armstrong set foot on the moon

almost a billion years ago, about a day

or two after Magellan circumnavigated

the Earth. Primitive shit, they’ll claim,

no friggin’ big deal.

All the mishaps of humanity will be

a thing of the past. Pull the plug and

reinstate...Reboot! Oh, happy days!

             -30-

Chris Hanch 10-30-2020