Of Laptops and Liberty Bells


My hands trembled. My heart picked up its pace to a fast trot. Sweat broke out on my forehead. How could I have been so stupid? Why hadn't this occurred to me before? I was going to be...

Four days without email.

I've done it before, of course. A day here. A day there. And visits at the holidays with my dad, for instance, have allowed me a quick connection with all that is online once a day using his system. But an upcoming trip to Philly for a four-day weekend, to meet some blogging friends, would leave me wholly unconnected...

Adrift.

Lost.

And totally dissing you guys!

I got a little nauseous and my head went swimmy just thinking about it. So in an impulsive move toward technological spending entirely rare for me (remember, I'm one of the few people left in the country without a cell phone), I broke down and bought a laptop.

And wow, are laptops smaller than they were when I had one in college! At that time, they weighed about 40 pounds and whose lap they were designed to fit-- that big guy from The Green Mile? the fat lady from an old timey carnival side show? the entire World Wrestling Federation cast?-- it's hard to say. I just recall hefting this giant bag down long airport corridors as it carved a channel into my shoulder so deep, it would have been worthy of tacking on to the Grand Canyon and inviting tourists.

We'd have made our money mainly through the postcard and t-shirt sales.

Anyway, I'm looking forward this weekend to meeting blogging friends Claire and JD in Philadelphia. As Claire is visiting from the UK, it will be JD's and my job to be ambassadors for our country and ensure she sees all the important historical landmarks in Philadelphia, which tell the fascinating story of the American colonies' quest for independence from....

er....

okay...

Well, maybe we can give the landmarks a miss. Philly cheesesteaks and bowling for everyone!

Anyway, due to Blogger's nifty ability to pre-schedule posts, Of Cabbages and Kings will continue to post Friday and Monday all by its little ol' self. And me, I will be popping in and out-- courtesy of my not-40-pound laptop-- to catch up with everybody as much as battery power and internet access allows.

If you don't hear from me next week, I overshot Philly and am currently churning butter in Lancaster at the home of a nice Amish family who took me in. Shoo-fly pie, anyone?

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10 comments:

Da Old Man said...

I love shoo fly pie. :)
If you stay with the Distelfink's say hello to them from me. Very nice folks, by the way. But I wouldn't mention the English friend to them.

Unknown said...

Da Old Man- I will give the Distelfink's your regards. And regarding mentioning our friend Claire, well, we'll just see how much trouble Miss Pitt gets into here in the States. We may have to keep everything hush-hush pending trial. :)

Anonymous said...

Wait... you mean you decided to give Philly a miss and stopped in Lancaster! Have fun in my old haunts! And PM me if you want some ideas for fun things for tourists to do.

Unknown said...

WordTapestry- Thanks... :) I think we'll be a-okay, but it's certainly good to know. :)

Anonymous said...

Jenn, thanks for buying a laptop just for us! We your adoring fans salute thee! :)

And I would lurve :) me some shoo-fly pie (The Wife, though, hates it).

In case I didn't get enough emoticons. Here's one :) more, no two more ;)

Anonymous said...

Yeah, ixnay on the old olonies er-cay, um, reedom...fray? Okay, I suck at pig Latin but definitely keeping away from the whole revolution topic is a good idea.

Unknown said...

Unfinished- I actually don't think I've HAD shoo-fly pie... but I guess if I get lost on this trip, well, I'm getting my chance! :) PS- Here's some extra emoticons for you as spares... :) :D :P

JD from Hoeno- Heh, it's a bit like that old Fawlty Towers episode where Basil has Germans coming in and he keeps insisting, "Say nothing about the war!"

Greg said...

Good thing you don't live in Philly, what with your bell-drawing ability! Have fun with Claire and JD...

MYM said...

Congrats on the purchase :) I don't have a laptop, but have been using the one from work for a few months now ... and I feel so spoiled! I'll be sad when I have to give it back, lol.

Unknown said...

Greg- Yeah, yeah, yeah... :)

Drowsey- Do the folks at work know you HAVE it? Perhaps they could just conveniently... forget....? :)