My childhood friend called me last night and the conversation led to some of the memorable characters that added color to our rural farm life story. She told me of one of her relatives that spent most of the time as a logger in the north woods.

One time when he made the trip out of the woods to visit her family, the timing coincided with her father buying their first TV set. It was a 12-inch black and white. The TV was on when the logger walked into the house.

He took a quick look at it and excused himself. When he came back into the living room he had taken a bath and was wearing a suit.

He looked at the TV again and then explained to the family that he didn’t want the people in that box to see him in his work clothes.

It’s a funny story. I laughed when she told it to me. As I write it now there is something in me that longs for the days when technology just did not fit into our experience of life.