It Just Gets Harder January 30th 2024

     Tell you what:  Life on line ain't no bed of roses for those of us to whom the computer was introduced later in life.  I don't know the lingo.  I can't keep up with the updates.   With every new innovation, comes a completely new format.  You should have seen what I went through to get into my blog today.  Now that I have done it,  well chucks, it weren't nothing.  But the panic a few days ago when I couldn't get on the way I did for the last year?  It wasn't pretty.   But worse than the utter frustration,  and the complete extraction of any self respect or confidence you have, is the vulnerability for people like me.  Which brings me to the reason I am here today.

     Last week I took my grand children to the Red Deer Public Library where they participate in Chess club.  They enjoy chess club and I would have loved to see them participate.   Parents are allowed to remain while chess club goes on and I was looking forward to seeing two of my little men apply their lessons to the board.  But parking in downtown Red Deer is an issue.   I don't mind paying for parking.  It is a fact of life and has been in downtowns all over the world for as long as I can remember.  That's why there is change in the cup holder of my car.  But Red Deer doesn't want your chump change anymore.  They don't want your credit card.  They want you to download an app so you can hold your smart phone up to a squiggly square on a sign from which they  by some kind of magic obtain access to your bank, or credit card or whatever cyberish thing that gets them paid by you.

    Well change is,  after all, inevitable so I just decided to be a modern adult and do what I had to do to park my car and watch my grand children play a little chess.  I wasn't even worried about how to do it.  Cause there is GOOGLE!   And that's exactly what I did,  right there in the drivers seat of my car in a 10 minute loading zone.  I goggled " Pay parking in Red Deer Alberta."   And what came up?  " Pay Parking in three easy steps".  I followed the three easy steps.  Name, address, credit card information, ect. and when all was said and done,  I pushed enter.   I immediately got a list of movies and games for rent.    I also got an immediate notification that my credit card had been charged $48.00.     

    Duped.  Befuddled.  Tricked.  Embarrassed beyond belief.   I immediately called my bank and after 20 minutes of Kenny G.  and numerous adverts about how much credit is available,  I was assisted by someone who was most understanding.  It resulted in my credit card being cancelled.  A new one is being issued and should arrive sometime this week.   In the interim,  I missed my automatic vehicle registration because of billing issues.  I have also been advised several of my accounts are about to be cancelled. 

     If people were involved,  perhaps I could explain.  But there is no one to talk to.  I will have to resort to a friend,  or a grand child, or several hours of self doubt while sifting through the instructions in compuspeak as to how to enter my new number.  It should all be so easy.  But sometimes I am too literal.  Often I am not literal enough.  And I don't know how many times I have completed the first step only to realize the second step has to be done in what seems to be ahead of the first step.   For all the convenience.  For the ability to be able to do things I enjoy such as communication, and above all writing,  I have trouble managing the panic frequent changes in the cyber world causes.

     A few weeks back I had a salesman come to the door.  He was canvasing for a universal charity that combats famine in third world countries.  (Note I am hesitant to use it's name, as they do do good work).  The canvaser in his pitch advised that $40.00 could feed numerous children for a month.  I pulled $40.00 cash out of my wallet at which point he advised he couldn't take cash.  So I took out my credit card.  As he was entering my data on his little machine,  he told me that three months of nutrition for this group of children would restore their health.  I was a little put out about this information coming after he made it appear he was asking for $40.00.   But it was an internationally recognized charity that did good work, so I bit my lip and agreed to a $40.00 debit on my credit card for three months.   Well it turns out that after three months,  it is up to me to cancel the debit or they will continue to make claims until I tell them to stop.   

      What once would have been considered a scam or a deception has now become a standard business practice even used by nonprofit reputable agencies.   I felt used.  I felt suckered.  I felt embarrassed that my sense of duty made me a target.  Well the jokes on the charity cause my credit card got cancelled cause of someone else's exploitation of my artificial intelligence ignorance.  

      So now I have confirmed what all of my friends and online therapists have always known.  I am not an overly intelligent person.  But I don't think I am alone in this wasteland they call online.    I understand business is business.  That client satisfaction or affordability are only  considerations when it appears it will aid the bottom line.  But sometimes it would be nice to feel like you are getting what you pay for.    That three easy payments are just that.   That looking for parking permits doesn't mean you have purchased a gaming app. ( You buy the app to allow you to purchase their products).   

     My generation has been taught and has preached the value of an honest earned dollar.   Like everything in history, the definition of an honest earned dollar has been stretched to the limits.   It is hard for someone like me to maneuver through todays cyber world.  And it just keeps getting harder.