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FEBRUARY / MARCH 2020 • MONTANA SENIOR NEWS MODERN SENIOR PAGE 15

Tuesdays with Auri

Included with the update was a
BY DICK WOLFSIE link to MapQuest, informing me how
long it would take to get there from
(SENIOR WIRE) It began with a simple my house, which was either 3 minutes
phone call to my friend Auri, a computer away, 4 minutes away, 7 minutes away
geek I asked to help me with my successful or 8 minutes away, depending on
website, which right now is attracting which nearby Starbucks I was going to.
up to three visitors a month. To have a On Tuesday morning, I got another
strong online presence, you have to spend cell phone alert (an annoying ding) that
several hours a day using social media, my breakfast meeting was in half an
like Facebooking, tweeting, and updating hour. Then at 8:15, I was dinged again,
your blog. warning that I only had 15 minutes to
This means cutting yourself off from make it on time. I rushed out the door,
the outside world. But that’s the price you afraid that if I were late, news of my tardi-
pay for being social. I went with red. ness would go viral.
Auri and I decided we would meet in a The following morning, I got an “Invitation I reached Starbucks at 8:25. Auri hadn’t
few days for coffee. I got out my trusty mini Update” in my email, as well as on my cell arrived yet. I bought a coffee and waited.
legal pad and wrote down the time and date. phone. It was a request by Auri to change our And waited. I called his cell phone just
Then I put a sticky note on my bathroom breakfast from 9 to 8:30. I agreed to the new before 9 a.m. He answered right away.
mirror. At my age, I know I will see it there time, telling him in a comment box that I was “Auri, where are you? I’m at Starbucks on
several times the night before, reminding changing the color of our meeting from red to 82nd,” I said.
me of that early morning obligation. This green. Although I’m sure this didn’t matter to He responded, “Oh my gosh, was
system seldom fails, although one day I Auri, the Department of Homeland Security that today?” MSN
accidentally grabbed a list from the previous was probably relieved.
day and started repeating everything on it.
I’m glad I have an honest barber.
Auri and I agreed to get together
on the following Tuesday, at 9 a.m., at
Starbucks. Auri entered our engagement
on his Google calendar, which I soon ®
TRANE
discovered automatically synched to my FORCED AIR HEATING
AOL calendar, telling me the time and A/C SYSTEMS
location of the appointment. I don’t like
it when other people tell me where to MITSUBISHI ®
DUCTLESS AIR
go—but that was also happening way CONDITIONING
before computers.
A minute after our call, a “meeting CLIMATE MASTER ®
GEO-THERMAL
alert” magically appeared on my computer HEATING & COOLING
screen. The message came with a selection
of colors for this entry to distinguish it from
other appointments on my calendar, except HELENA
intermountainheating.com
I didn’t have any. I had no idea what color a 406-449-4567
conversation at Starbucks should be. Brown
seemed appropriate for java, but something
more festive felt right. Mary Ellen suggested
taupe or mauve; I told her the color should Easier there. Easier back.
reflect the importance of our get-together,
not match our bedspread.
Whether for medical appointments or visits with the
grandkids, hopping on a fast, affordable flight is so much
easier than hours behind the wheel. Take the worry out
of travel for you and your family, and enjoy the ride.

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