“You’re building a cabin here, Grandpa? Why?”
“There’s nothing here, Cece. I’ll have that wreck up top demolished and put my cabin there.”
The eleven-year-old still couldn’t understand. “But no electricity, plumbing, or wifi? Yikes.”
“Solar will provide electricity, and the water and sewage lines run this far out. No wifi’s the point”
“I’d die.”
“People my age get tired of the constant bombardment of opinions in social media.”
“Turn off your computer.”
“Can you?”
“What will we do when I visit?”
“Hike, fish, explore the beauty of nature. This is where real life happens, not on Facebook and twitter.”
I wrote this for the Rochelle Wisoff-Fields photo writing challenge. The idea is to use the image above to inspire crafting a piece of flash fiction no more than 100 words long. My word count is 100.
I saw the challenge right after looking at Facebook and twitter, and frankly, sometimes the demand and entitlement qualities of some of the comments are pretty hard to take. I’m torn, because the internet has also become an important information source for me, as well as a method of communication (hence this blog), but it’s a double-edge sword.
Today’s wee tale is my commentary on all that. Sometimes you have to turn everything off for a while and walk away, remembering that social media is an illusion and real life exists “out there”.
To read other stories based on the prompt, visit InLinkz.com.
I totally identify with this character. Sometimes I think it takes those of us in the older generation to take a step back and see what our kids and grandkids are missing. with their dependence on electronics. Great story.
LikeLike
Thanks, Linda. Fortunately, I still talk walks with the grandkids, play at the playground, and kick a soccer ball around with my grandson.
LikeLiked by 2 people
Yes, we do the same. Their parents do a good job of limiting screen time.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Dear James,
You can’t be serious??? Life without computers and wifi? Grandpa’s a radical. Hunting and fishing, indeed. 😉 Good one. (Of course without wifi, we wouldn’t have Friday Fictioneers.)
Shalom,
Rochelle
LikeLiked by 1 person
I know. Crazy old coot, right? “Get off my lawn!” 😀
LikeLiked by 2 people
A bit of both is best, I think. But what a lucky boy to have such a grandfather.
LikeLike
Actually Cece is a girl, but it’s all good. The cabin is a retreat, not his main home. However, for a generation that has never known life without smartphones, wifi, and the internet, living without it for even a few hours can seem like purgatory.
LikeLike
On the other hand, if that cabin were to be wanted as a retreat for writing, and the research which it may demand, access to the ‘net is desirable. Also, one never knows when one might need to communicate with emergency services. Earlier remote communication technologies, like a ham radio or mobile network or CB radio, may not be monitored as once they were. You didn’t mention a telephone land line, but I presumed that also was not in the picture. SatCom, which would enable ‘net access and VOIP telephony, would be the most logical means for remote communications access, even if intended and activated only for emergencies.
LikeLiked by 1 person
You’ve got me, PL. I wrote this as a visceral response to reading social media this morning and the desire to get away from it all for a while.
LikeLike
Sorry — the engineer in me is just too practical. [:)]
LikeLiked by 1 person
Not to neglect the ol’ BoyScout…
LikeLiked by 1 person
I agree with the sentiment, James. Makes me want to take a long walk in the woods.
LikeLike
Me too, JHC.
LikeLike
I think Rochelle said it all.
Ha.
🙂
Randy
LikeLiked by 1 person
An enlightened old man – he knows how to enjoy his solitude. I like your take.
LikeLike
Thanks, yarnspinnerr.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Love the grumpy old man
LikeLiked by 1 person
Me, too.
LikeLike
Sometimes social media provokes similar thoughts for me.
LikeLike
I think a lot of us have that reaction, Sandra. Thanks.
LikeLike
Amen to that, everything in moderation. Interestingly, I read somewhere that the younger generation coming into their teenage years now are actually spending less time than there predecessors on social media, so perhaps there is hope yet.
LikeLike
I hope so. Thinking of making a little Mark Zuckerberg doll and sticking pins in it. Won’t do anything to him, but it might make me feel better. 😉
LikeLiked by 1 person
I was pleased to read in one of your replies that this will not be your main residence. No wi-fi would mean no more of your delightful yarns!
My FriFic tale is called Solace!
LikeLike
A: It’s fiction. B: I couldn’t live like that forever. Thanks, Keith.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Now, that is a good one! I saw on the news this morning where the current generation of youngsters has been proclaimed the “loneliest” generation… and the experts can’t figure out why…ejeets! You answered it loud and clear here!
LikeLike
Yep. Take away their smartphones and they’re helpless. I read a news story a week or two ago about how students from Stanford University were protesting outside of Apple’s headquarters because the company had made the iPhone addicting. Imagine that.
LikeLiked by 1 person
And to think, I have a phone…mostly because it’s more convenient to carry around than my camera. And, most of the time it’s turned off, unless I’m uploading photos. hehe. But, take away my inet… grrr….
LikeLike
I use my iPhone as a (gasp) phone, as well as to text and take photos, mainly of my grandchildren. I keep it turned on in case my family needs to reach me for something important. I rarely use it to surf the web since the screen is so small, and data is so expensive.
LikeLike
With my hearing the way it is, it’s virtually not a happening thing to use any phone. I do txt when needed. Mainly, it’s become a necessity because of Hubby’s seizures…the need to have 9-1-1 available (both voice and now txt where we live!). Wow, didn’t realize I could surf the web with a phone….something new to play with, thanks.
LikeLike
Sorry about your hearing and your hubby’s seizures. Most of the time, I don’t pay much attention to my tinnitus, but it’s exacerbated by stress, so occasionally, it ramps up its game quite a bit.
I only access the web with my phone when I’ve got access to WiFi. Using cellular data is expensive, and it’s easy to run out of data for the month fast. In places like Japan where living space is at a premium, most people use their phones as their primary computer. I think many young people in the U.S. do the same.
My wife does all of her computing on her iPad now and when he’s visiting, my nine-year-old grandson “borrows” it. His Dad got him a wrist phone so he could keep track of him (it has GPS) and when my grandson is back at his Mom’s he’ll still call my wife every afternoon to say “Hi.”
LikeLiked by 1 person
Thanks for the warning. Hubby gets audio books on his phone… might ask him how he does it. Says it doesn’t use up time. I have a prepay phone because I use it sooo little.
LikeLike
I buy and download digital books from Amazon, so they stay both on my local hard drive and in Amazon’s cloud. You can do the same with phones, which is really handy. I understand that you can actually check out digital books from the local library, but I haven’t tried that yet. I’m still fond of my hardcopy books.
Oh, really old books can be had online for free. I got a copy of Mary Shelley’s “Frankenstein” that way, along with most of Edgar Rice Burroughs’ “John Carter of Mars” series.
LikeLiked by 1 person
In keeping with the theme of today’s story, I found some Jewish Wisdom for the Facebook Generation.
LikeLike
Too bad humanity has gotten away from the important things.
LikeLike
Agreed.
LikeLike
Nice story! 🙂
Grandpa sure has his priorities sorted!
LikeLike
This is true. Thanks.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Living off the grid – that’s the way to go. However, if you have cell phone, you have wifi. I’ve used it quite often.
LikeLike
Assuming they’re in range of a cell tower. Thanks.
LikeLiked by 1 person
I hear you about the internet – I adore it and loathe it in equal measure. But then, it is only what people make it – lovable and loathsome as they are! Well written picture of a rural idyll James
LikeLike
Thanks, Lynn.
LikeLiked by 1 person
My pleasure
LikeLiked by 1 person
I’m with him! Great idea to escape the internet now and again. I hope he convinces his grandchild. 🙂
Susan A Eames at
Travel, Fiction and Photos
LikeLike
Oh, I think so, Susan. Thanks.
LikeLike
Go, Grandpa!
LikeLike
😀
LikeLike
Totally agree with this. Real life doesn’t happen in your phone or your computer screen.
LikeLiked by 1 person
I think we need a place away from wifi… personally I spend all my vacations away… I know were to find white spots without even cellular coverage.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Haha, I think about all of us could use a break in this retreat! Excellent idea.
LikeLike
Thanks, Karen.
LikeLike
I can see Grandpa’s point. I wouldn’t mind getting away to the country and having a retreat from the internet for a while. Although maybe just a short while. And I’d still need my computer, so I could write! And running water and electricity, and decent heating, and a warm shower and a flush toilet, and… Hm, it occurs to me that I should take the grandchild’s advice: stay here in my comfortable life and just turn off the stupid internet sometimes!
LikeLike
LOL. Well, there’s always that. Thanks, Joy.
LikeLiked by 1 person
I think it would be a great place to get away – for a while. Not forever! It would be good for the child to learn how to enjoy life around him!.
I really liked this one, James.
LikeLike
Thanks, Dale.
LikeLike
The old man probably is right but I’d probably miss the computer if it was weeks on end if I’ve being honest. There would be a TV right? Great story, made me smile.
LikeLike
Thanks. Just meant to be a retreat, not a permanent home.
LikeLiked by 1 person
It’ll be a real education for the lad!
LikeLike
I need to choose a better name for her. Cece is a girl. Thanks.
LikeLike
You could easily segue this conversation as a part of your Keisha stories, James. It works well as a standalone piece as well.
LikeLike
Not quite sure how that would work since we’re talking about different universes and Keisha is all about technology. She’s a tinkerer and an budding engineer, just like her Grandpa, and loves blinky lights and spinny stuff.
LikeLike
It would certainly be possible to live a life without internet access, but it’s noticeable that many refugees make sure they have a mobile phone. I think that says something about the value of information and access to communications. It’s a survival tool just as much as a gun and a fishing line.
But, I must say, I like the thought of your cabin in the woods. I could sit there, writing my novel in longhand, surrounded by the natural world, glass of wine in hand…
LikeLike
As I mentioned before, it’s a place to be used as a retreat, not a long term residence. We all need a break from the madness.
LikeLike
It’s not even refurbished yet, and already you’ve got James renting it out! [:)]
LikeLike
Got to make a buck somehow. 😉
LikeLike
But the idea of renting out a yet-to-be-refurbished cabin that exists only in a story from your imagination reminds me of a definition I once read, that tried to distinguish between two psychological syndromes in lay language. If I remember it correctly, it said that a neurotic imagines “mansions in the sky”, whereas a psychotic tries to move into them. [:)]
LikeLiked by 1 person
At least the child is going to visit – that’s a good start.
LikeLike
Agreed, Liz. Thanks.
LikeLike
I have days when I long to be unplugged.. great story! ❤
LikeLike
Thanks, Courtney.
LikeLike
Ah, the call for the peace of the old pursuits, fresh air and the beautiful wild world. Unlike the artificial cyber world.
Nicely put.
LikeLike
Indeed. Thanks, James.
LikeLiked by 1 person
It is a difficult area, without the computer I was unable to write! So keep the WiFi, but ban most tv soaps. 🙂 I have a mobile phone, but it is just a phone, and rarely used
LikeLike
Just a vacation spot. Not for long term residence, Mike.
LikeLike
You have captured modern life perfectly. My nephews cannot conceive a time without internet. I love having a holiday where internet is not possible – it is the only time I really get to relax. As you can tell I totally related to your story and loved it.
LikeLike
Thank you, Irene.
LikeLiked by 1 person
We took our children camping many times over the years. Went to Yellowstone (awesome), 9 Eagles State Park, Breckenridge, and many, many more. Our four boys, to this day, remember the awesome vacations camping. I think all children need to be happy in life, is a happy childhood. Worked for my husband and me too. Good story!
LikeLike
My family took many trips when I was a child including Yellowstone. Yes, we have many wonderful outdoors areas. Of course, I suppose today, there are parts of Yellowstone that have WiFi.
LikeLike
I like both social media and the retreat away from it all. I like the way you showed it between different generations.
LikeLike
Thank you, Fatima.
LikeLike
It does sound like a great place to unplug!
LikeLike
I agree, Dawn. Thanks.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Like the tone of your story, feels like a quiet assertion from you — well put. Not a rant. I identify with your sentiment, though I want to blog !!!
LikeLike
I’m sure you’ve noticed that I write a ridiculous amount, so I’m not away from my computer for very long.
LikeLike