My How Times Have Changed

On the flight to San Antonio, TX Wednesday different thoughts were running through my head as I watched all the people around me reading/watching TV/playing games on laptops/tablets/phones—times have changed for sure in our lifetime!!   I’m here doing a consulting assignment for a medical supply company.  The cowboy and I married in the early 1990’s and in 1995 I went to work as a nurse consultant for the Kimberly-Clark Corporation.  For twelve years I traveled all over the country supporting the company’s sales force in various hospital operating rooms. 

In the early days of my traveling, I used a MCI calling card for making long distance calls.  Then cell phones came along but with limited minutes and data wasn’t even invented! 

Kimberly-Clark began using computers for crunching numbers and creating reports—BUT—they didn’t want to provide their independent consultants with a laptop so Michael and I made the leap purchasing our first laptop probably in about 2000 for a cost of approximately $1300!!!!!  The dang thing weighed a ton!! 

In January of 2003 Michael and I began traveling south and each year we spent longer and longer amounts of time in the warm sunshine of Arizona.  The world of internet was starting to change—Kimberly-Clark used a VPN and a security card with rapidly rotating PIN numbers.  This secure system would work on our then dial-up internet at home in Montana but it refused to work with the Hughes Satellite dish we lugged around for internet when traveling.   By this time Kimberly-Clark was issuing sales force refurbished computers to the nurse consultants. 

I can remember seeking out Hilton properties because as a member of their frequent stay program I could use their lobby internet—wired direct of course!!  We also frequented one particular Tucson public library as they had tons of computer terminals one could use to access the internet—Kimberly-Clark’s VPN worked there, too.

Mail was another issue when we were traveling—Nat (Michael’s Dad) was way younger at the time and he would journey from town to our house (22 miles) a couple times per week retrieving our mail and feeding the birds for me.  He would open my Kimberly-Clark checks and deposit them plus he would open our bills, reading the amounts to us over the phone.  We would then write and mail the checks.

LoraLee (our daughter-in-law) took over the mail job and we had our mail forwarded to her and even had her write checks for unexpected bills which would appear.  By then we had progressed to checking our credit card balances online and writing checks plus Kimberly-Clark was doing direct deposit for both my paychecks and expense reimbursements. 

WOW—have times ever changed!  We get so little paper mail and all our banking and bill payment is done online.  And even though we have an iPhone, we are still the odd couple--we have only one cellphone!  Yep, one!  So, when I travel the phone comes with me and Michael will use Skype to call me plus we communicate with email. 

It’s amazing how the communication world has changed isn’t it!?

San Antonio has been wet, wet.  Arizona temps are warm again and Ms. Emmi is definitely on the mend.  The cowboy is ready for me to come home!