Here I am at four a.m. Alas. Here at the old folks home they have started a bed-check every two hours. The care giver opens the door, expecting to see me in bed. Instead he sees me sitting at the computer.
"You okay, Chuck?"
"Okay, Glen."
He goes on his way. We'll both have a nap this afternoon. I didn't go bed until after midnight. Lee Oskar was on David Letterman show last night. I had to stay up to hear the foremost harmonica player around. I have a Lee Oskar harmonica myself. He sounded great.
My talking watch grew weaker and weaker past week. I went and bought a new battery. I got the old battery out, but the tiny screws are just too tiny to replace after putting in the new battery. They must have special tools when they assemble them. Since I could not get the back on, I secured the back with a clothes pin. I cannot wear it that way, so I cut the wrist band off and made a talking desk clock out of it...clothes pin and all. Then I ordered a new talking watch online.
In fact, I ordered TEN. I will wear one and sell the rest at cost to the others who live here. We all need talking watches, our vision being so weak. By ordering ten, I get them for $6.50 each. I will soon be known as "The guy with the talking watches." My last order was a mere six watches. I sold them all, except the one I wore.
My first talking watch was free. An impatient senior was frustrated with his watch because he "couldn't understand it." The voice is a bit high pitched and nasal (although it has no nose). He threw it on the table and said, "Here. Take it." So I did, and wore it until its battery gave out. The batteries last about two years, and I find, it is simpler to buy a new watch, at $6.50, than to buy a $1.95 battery and struggle to replace it. Viewed in that way, you might say the watch is $4.50 and the battery is free. I think... I have confused myself.
My talking "desk clock" is about to announce "It is five o'clock. AM" so I better get back in bed and see if I can sleep a couple more hours.
3 comments:
Sweet Dreams Chuck!
I believe you may have found something even insidious than “planned obsolescence,” here Chuck.
I don’t know what to name it, it is a sort of version of “the cart leading the horse” or “the tail wagging the dog…”
We buy a new watch rather than change the battery – and somehow calculate the labor cost or the risk of not being able to put the thing back together into our justification for sort of throwing out the baby with the bath water…
At least both battery and watch manufacturers are happy – and we do get a new watch out of the deal … at a sort of a discount, if you look at it a certain way.
Anyway, I hope you have good times with that new watch, Chuck.
Dave
By the way, your springtime photos are a bit disconcerting. I’m in Reno where yesterday morning everything was coated with white. You can read about it in my blog: http://wanderingdave.blogspot.com/ .
I’m off for Redding tomorrow and am hoping to find a mountain pass that’s not clogged with the white stuff. -- DB
Hope you managed to get a few hours sleep Chuck. I sometimes find that I just cannot get to sleep and get up and start doing things. Lack of sleep really makes me feel ill though and luckily it doesn't happen too often. Now I try not to get my mind too busy before I go to bed. Hugs. Terry x
Post a Comment