Reconnecting during a loss of internet

One of the most aggravating things in life is no internet.

Since we rely on the internet to tell us how to live life, it is unsettling and downright upsetting when it goes out.

That has been the case in the Parker house over the last month, not once or twice, but four times.

We’ve had the repair technician visit us the first two times the internet went out. He had to replace the modem both times after they both bit the dust.

Our internet went out twice again. The third time was more broad and was fixed in a couple days without a visit by the technician.

The fourth time, a week ago, I called the service folks after it went out again. They set up for service technician to stop after Memorial Day.

I then received a phone call saying the issue was an identified network outage. I was told they would fix it and get us back in service soon.

I’m still waiting.

It seems like every time it rains or storms, our internet goes out.

It’s getting a little bit ridiculous to have to keep calling the service folks so we can go about doing our daily business.

It’s amazing how much we rely on the internet.

And of all times, it went out during the college softball super regionals and national championship tournament that gets underway this week.

We’ve had to settle for watching the games on our cellphones using data.

If we want to use the computer or watch a game on television, we have to turn on our hot spot on the cellphone. We have unlimited data on our cellphones, but not hot spot use.

Debbie has already drained her hot spot use limit watching softball games, and I’m about halfway through my limit doing newspaper work and working on freelance photography projects.

Our hot spot use doesn’t reset until June 3.

Being without internet is a good time to be thankful for what life has to offer or tackle a project or follow a dream. A little work in this department is much needed in my life.

And in the scheme of life, there are so many things that are much more important than posting a photo or sending a message on Facebook.

I admit, sometimes it’s kind of nice to have no social media. It’s gives me and I’m sure others, a chance to find our way using a map or looking up what we need in a dictionary.

I’ve done neither this week, but maybe I should. I do have an old set of encyclopedias in the basement that came with the house, but I haven’t cracked one of them open since moving here in 2006.

Using these old-fashioned tools have become boring now that the world is at our fingertips thanks to the internet — which is currently out of service in the Parker house.

I remember numerous times my mom would visit the AAA service in Tulsa to get directions for our annual August vacations. They actually had live people who helped you map out the best route on old-fashioned maps to get you where you wanted to go.

We often left AAA carrying a white plastic bag filled with a dozen maps and numerous brochures for stops along the way, depending on our planned journey.

Many tourist rest stops and hotels still have racks filled with brochures advertising area attractions and stops. When staying in a hotel, I usually take a few moments to check out the area offerings.

We camped on our vacations in my dad’s 1967 Chevrolet S-10 with a shell camper on the back. My mom had three custom-made beds in the back. One for her, one for dad and one for me. My brother slept on a mat in the middle and we storied our suitcases and camping gear under the beds.

KOA Campgrounds were our most used destinations on our travels.

We had a KOA Campground in east Tulsa, and my mom would drive there and pick up a catalog of all their campgrounds across America. That’s a very handy tool when traveling.

A lot of that information is now available on the internet as are state maps, which, surprisingly, are still published.

I usually pick up a new Iowa map each year at the Iowa State Fair and toss it in a pile somewhere just in case I need it, if I can find it.

If you find yourself without the internet, take the time to get to know your neighbors and reconnect with your friends in person.

You might actually like it.

Now when is that internet repairman coming?

Have a great week and always remember that “Good Things are Happening” every day.