Ordinary living

I was sitting on a bench on a hot and sunny day around noon outside a ceramics shop in Sevilla while Carol was inside looking for new decor items for our kitchen.

He was 25 feet away standing beside his parent’s car as they were loading up the trunk with new purchases. He was in his Sunday best, short pants, white shirt, polished shoes and he was not happy.

Maybe 4 years old, he had light brown hair with a curl in front, and he had his arms crossed against his chest. He had a pouty bottom lip and he was going through his whole repertoire to get his way. He started with whining, then pleading, all to no avail as his dad calmly kept loading the trunk. Now he was gesticulating with his hands and leaned forward at the waist. He moved into his dad’s line of sight and stomped his feet. No reaction. But then he started yelling and his father looked up penetratingly and the young boy hastily moved behind him and put his hands in his pockets and was kicking at something nonexistent on the roadway only mumbling now.

His older sister, maybe seven, also in her finery, emerged from the other side of the car and bent down and mocked him briefly. Dad looked up at her and she returned to her position but still had a parting comment for her little brother. The mom showed up from inside a store and took both children by the hand and walked with them down the sidewalk away from me. The sister was skipping and the boy was looking up at his mom and hugged her arm. The dad closed the trunk and caught up to them. Family life in Spain. It was like what I had grown up with and it was very touching.

We took the train from Madrid to Sevilla, two and a half hours southwest. A fast comfortable ride, Carol read, I blogged on my tablet. Yes, it finally could be claimed as my tablet as we picked up a less deluxe version for Carol before we left. Basically left-footers tech-wise until this past year, we now were travelling with two phones (Fred and Wilma) and two tablets.

Now I get it. Until recently I was the curmudgeon who would think less of the people around me who would be head down in lobbies and restaurants and waiting rooms and airports not paying close attention to their surroundings.

I would relish the stories of people who fell into manholes or walked into a pole as they texted or who dropped their phone into the urinal. I thought they were all selfish and had relationship issues. Well maybe some do, but most don’t. Yes, there might be a table of four people all engrossed in their devices, seemingly apart from each other but it was the opposite. They were like a collective brain working in unison. Someone would ask a question, another one or two would look for the answer, and the last would expound on the results. In less than a minute they had researched their problem and potentially solved it. Whether it was dissecting song lyrics or figuring out how to unclog a drain they were working in harmony. It was stimulating and somewhat addictive to have the answer to most questions at your fingertips.

There would be a hierarchy where one could type faster, or fine tune a search to get faster results, information was shared, and a bond strengthened. But from the unitiated it was intimidating. That’s not what it was like when I was growing up. No it wasn’t, unless you’re 20 years old or younger because Google didn’t exist until Sept.4, 1998 (I Googled it).

I started my past business in 1993 as a mail order company and then with help from friends went online in Jan. 1997. It changed everything. I had a big advantage over my competitors and many didn’t catch up for five years or more because that wasn’t the way it was done when they were growing up.

I shouldn’t have been so judgemental but I was because change is happening WAY to fast for me now and my brain is full. I have a better lifestyle than I ever dreamed of. Slow and steady was how I got here and as my body ages that’s what I want for my future. I’m insulated from some changes because of the rural location that we’ve chosen but nobody wants to be left in the dust. Just sayin’. And that is why we’re travelling with four devices.

We are following a familiar pattern. Book an Airbnb with a particular budget in mind (ours is roughly $70-80 including fees). Sometimes it gets you semi-deluxe accommodations in a historic district and sometimes it gets you a comfortable spot in a suburban environment as this current one is.

Unlike in all but the largest North American markets location is flexible because of efficient public transit and fast metro systems.

We’re a couple of miles from where we will be spending most of our time but it’s a short ten minute walk to the metro and another ten to reach our destination. Plus you’re mixed in with the local community where you can offer greetings or help someone with a small favor, like to hold open a door, whatever it takes. We feel like ambassadors for our country and feel a responsibility to put our best foot forward.

We had a good day today and look forward to the next few days in the Andulasian area.

Talk to you tomorrow.