WHERE HAS IT ALL GONE?

Thinking back to the old days and some of the things we used to take for granted and are no longer part of our lives can take all day.

For instance, you remember the dial or rotary phone, and the painstaking care to stick your fingers in the right holes. It took me at least a minute to do so. No, I wasn't drunk sometimes, just took my time with picking out the numbers and then running the hole to the stopper at the end of the dial.

NOW? Just push those buttons really fast. Or, have the phone do it for you.

Needed to take a picture and wished you brought your camera along?

NOW? Just reach in your pocket and there it is on your phone.

Speaking of phones, if you didn't own a phone you had to rely on a neighbor or phone booth to make a call. 5¢ local, 25¢ out of town and even more after the call for long distance. You spoke fast.

Remember the TV dial? Another round thing that you needed to go to the set, turn the dial to the number you wanted, fortunately, we had 13 stations but not all of them worked. You only had 2, 4, 5 7, 9, 11, and 13, and of course UHF I believe. The set was black and white and sometimes the antennae needed to be moved around. If you wanted to see the show again, you had to wait for re-runs and hope you don't miss it then.

NOW? Just push a button on your remote for all things large or small. Like volume, picture size, and recording. And as an extra bonus, it tells you if you wish to take the incoming call.

Recall the floor button on your car floor, for the dimmers or retaliation button. You pressed it with your foot to communicate to the driver coming the other way to dim his lights in the dark. If he didn't, you gave him your bright thus helping facilitate a head-on accident.

NOW? Just push your lever forward.

How did you do with road maps? If you didn't have someone to read it to you while you were driving you had to write it down and follow it while you drove.

NOW? Ah! The GPS or global guidance system, and it even talks to you.

Had to get into your locked car? You reached into your pocket and dug out your keys, stuck it in the door handle or lock in the door, today you just keep them in your pocket and the door unlocks itself!

Mom would spend a lot of time and hard work cleaning her oven, the backbreaking need to reach into the chamber to scrub the crud.

Now? Just set the oven to self-clean and go get a nap and cup of coffee.

That dreaded chore, going to the grocery store, and shopping the aisles then getting on a long line to pay, negotiate a broken parking lot with its potholes and ruts and then unload in your car drive then unload what you loaded

NOW? Just make a phone call and it all comes to you!

Need to buy a car? Just ‘go online' compare features and prices or colors and models, all from home then go look in the showroom for what you know you already want.

Need a college degree? Quit out of the car website and go to the online colleges and what they offer. My degree was getting on trains, hitchhiking and walking, braving the elements and having to spend the whole day in searching for my education.

Now, just get to class with a cup of coffee in your pajamas.

And so, we move along, every day something new. Instant news, immediate phone service, instant help in finding businesses, restaurants and instant messages, all at your finger-tips.