Family matters

Day 20

I was torn on what to write. I have been doing a lot of existential thinking these past couple of days and how travel is changing my world view. It was really starting to make sense and I felt I could condense my thoughts and make it readable and relatable.

I was also thinking a lot about Fred and how I haven’t even mentioned his other two family members, Randy and Julie.

Well, hellloooo Randy and Julie.

First a little back story on Fred and Wilma. Wilma is an S4 and she belongs to Carol. She used to have an S4 twin brother who was mine. But he wasn’t very careful and decided to stay in the pocket of my shorts one evening while I joined Ted and Veronica in a hot tub in Conchas Chinas. If I remember correctly I was balancing three tequila shots in both hands while trying to perch myself on the edge of the pool.

So right off the bat Wilma is a survivor, losing her sibling before the age of two (that’s 14 in device years) and now has to cope with the new guy in town. She wears tight-fitting clear cases that feel nice to the touch.

Fred, who’s an S5, comes from a broken home. Actually a broken case and a damaged screen. So he’s a survivor too. He’s black, but he has no problem interacting with other colors (Wilma is chrome and he definitely likes her). Fred’s case is a hard-shell commuter, not the Darth-Vader-like defender-type. He’s macho but cool.

Fred has seen it all. He’s seen the underside of the dashboard in my truck (for 2 days). He’s been squashed against my butt while I laid a new floor over a long weekend and heard things no device should ever have to hear. He’s sampled McDonald’s coffee. (He’s never been to Tim Hortons, he doesn’t like their drive-thru). Caffeine doesn’t agree with him and we’ve decided that he’s off coffee and all liquids in general. Oh and he has seen the world.

Julie is Carol’s road tablet. She’s a Tab A, mid-sized. She’s a real head-turner in her satin chrome finish with an almost arabesque-styled case, hand-picked by Carol. Her and Wilma get along fine but she’s coy around the two boys.

Then there’s Randy. My my, he’s a charmer and a workhorse. He’s the alpha Tab E in the house. He’s black and you can see how Fred looks up to him. They are around each other quite a bit, both on the road and at home. Randy is stylin’ in a multi-color ‘tree of life’ jacket these days. It’s sturdy and skid-proof.

Randy and Fred work well together. Fred is out and about taking and editing the photos, and Randy coordinates the data back at our home-stays. Randy and I are close. I’ve spent many late nights and early morning hours crafting pages and posts with him (and he doesn’t vibrate all the time like Fred).

Randy’s big screen makes it easier to handle the email, comment responses, YouTube and Netflix videos, and our next-day map planning. He’s the MAN.

The four of them don’t often get together, usually one or two of them are charging but last night they were all laying on the couch and I think Randy had Transformers playing on the big screen, just chillin’.

Life can get a bit complicated on the road but with our four devices all pitching in it’s smooth sailing ahead. Giddyup hombres!

In case you’re wondering. Fred is taking the post heading pic and that’s why you don’t see the four of them together.