Search PalmPower's 487 Palm-related article archive 
Home
EasyPrint
News details Click here for the RSS feed's XML code. This is not a browser URL.
Articles-only Click here for the RSS feed's XML code. This is not a browser URL.
FROM THE EDITOR-IN-CHIEF
Make an impression
By David Gewirtz

A friend of mine sent me a wonderful story via email. Normally, I wouldn't just reprint a story by an anonymous writer I received over email as my editorial, but this one is pretty special and I wanted to share it with you all. Read it, and then we'll talk some more...

Impressions, by "Paul"
When I was quite young, my father had one of the first telephones in our neighborhood. I remember well the polished old case fastened to the wall. The shiny receiver hung on the side of the box. I was too little to reach the telephone, but used to listen with fascination when my mother used to talk to it.

Then I discovered that somewhere inside the wonderful device lived an amazing person -- her name was "Information Please" and there was nothing she did not know. "Information Please" could supply anybody's number and the correct time.

My first personal experience with this genie-in-the-bottle came one day while my mother was visiting a neighbor. Amusing myself at the tool bench in the basement, I whacked my finger with a hammer. The pain was terrible, but there didn't seem to be any reason in crying because there was no one home to give sympathy. I walked around the house sucking my throbbing finger, finally arriving at the stairway.

The telephone! Quickly, I ran for the footstool in the parlor and dragged it to the landing. Climbing up, I unhooked the receiver in the parlor and held it to my ear. "Information Please," I said into the mouthpiece just above my head.

A click or two and a small clear voice spoke into my ear. "Information."

"I hurt my finger..." I wailed into the phone. The tears came readily enough now that I had an audience.

"Isn't your mother home?" came the question.

"Nobody's home but me." I blubbered.

"Are you bleeding?"

"No," I replied. "I hit my finger with the hammer and it hurts."

"Can you open your icebox?" she asked.

I said I could.

"Then chip off a little piece of ice and hold it to your finger," said the voice.

After that, I called "Information Please" for everything. I asked her for help with my geography and she told me where Philadelphia was. She helped me with my math. She told me my pet chipmunk that I had caught in the park just the day before would eat fruits and nuts.

Then, there was the time Petey, our pet canary died. I called "Information Please" and told her the sad story. She listened, then said the usual things grown-ups say to soothe a child. But I was un-consoled. I asked her, "Why is it that birds should sing so beautifully and bring joy to all families, only to end up as a heap of feathers on the bottom of a cage?"


1  ·  2  ·  3  ·  Next »
Other articles you might like
Home > Extras > Editorials (118 articles)
   Say goodbye to the Uh-Ohs. Long live the Tens.
   Exploring the dark side of social networks
   Incident report: denial of service attack against ConnectedPhotographer.com
Get Weekly Email Updates
Subscribe to our regular weekly email newsletter. It's packed with tips, reviews, deep analysis, and the latest news.
 
Other PalmPower Articles
Palm gets up to date with new Tungsten family of handhelds
Create handwritten email with riteMail
Presenter-to-Go puts PowerPoint presentations on your Palm OS handheld
Looking for the cutting edge
Gain remote access to databases and PLCs
PalmSource Open House showcases what's new in the Palm community
Analysis: handheld market share
More from the ZATZ journals
Computing Unplugged: The iPad defenders have spoken
David Gewirtz Online: CNN commentary and analysis
DominoPower: Application development, William Shatner, and the origin of the universe
OutlookPower: More about disappearing text
-- Advertisement --

Sent Items Organizer
When you need to file your sent email into their proper folders based on keywords or who it's to. It's also perfect for shared mailboxes.

It also adds a "Send And File" toolbar button while you're composing (similar to the way Lotus Notes used to work) for quick and easy filing.

Find out more!

ZATZ Home  ·  News  ·  Back Issues  ·  Credits/Trademarks ·  Link To Us
Copyright © 1998-2010, ZATZ Publishing. All rights reserved worldwide.
Editor's Login