The Search for a Connection

Did you know it can still be difficult to find internet in a small town? While getting ready for our last minute, quick trip to my husband’s hometown for Gram’s funeral, we both breathed a sigh of relief remembering the new coffee shop of with internet we’d found when we visited at Christmas. No more searching for a nice place to check email and catch up on a bit of work. But to our dismay, the shop was closed—for vacation!

So we took ourselves (and our computers) to another place in town we’d used before, one which charged for Internet access. No matter, we decided. But when we arrived, the place had changed hands and was now a café and a flower shop! We went in and asked about Internet access (actually, I asked it they had Wi-Fi and the guy said, “Huh?”). Turns out they did—when they finally found the right password to give us. But we felt bad taking up a table while just drinking tea, depriving a waitress of a party with a larger check.

Finally, on a whim, we checked the McDonald’s. Lo and behold, we were connected—and for free. We answered emails and other things in a decently comfortable booth in a completely remodeled restaurant (no playground, no red and yellow motif.) I never imagined I’d be happy to spend an afternoon at Mickie D’s after all those years of Happy Meals with my kids!

Connection Interrupted

We made some changes to our Internet service last week. No provider change, so no big deal.

“It’ll go off one afternoon and come on again the next morning,” he told me. “Is there a day that would work best for you?”

I picked a Friday, because I knew I’d be gone all evening. It would be painless. Or so I thought.

Thursday morning I woke up to no Internet. No a good day. I had posts up at two group blogs and I needed to respond to comments. And I moderate an email loop on Thursdays. Needless to say, I wasn’t happy.

Long story short, it came on again about Friday noon. A day and a half. I thought I’d lose my mind—even with email on my phone! And as I stewed, I remembered the birthday my husband decided to “give” me AOL service, probably 12 or 13 years ago. This Internet thing was all brand new. We put the kids to bed then dialed up via the free trial CD. After an hour or so of trying to figure out what in the world we were supposed to do “on line,” we gave up. I told him, “Thanks, but no thanks.”

It took another two or three years—until my sister moved overseas—to get us connected, first via dial-up, then cable, then DSL. Now we have it our phones, can find it in various places with our laptops. In a few short years it has gone from enigma to necessity.

I’m just glad to be connected again!