The Technology Journey

Having grown up in the 50's and 60's, today's technology was not even dreamed of by most people.  We thought high technology was found in things like the first Mercury 7 Rocket that took Alan Shepherd into space in 1961.  Today's iPhone has more computing power in your pocket than that rocket had!

My personal technology journey probably started when I acquired an original Atari Pong Game that hooked up to the television.  We stayed up many nights marveling at the ability to play an electronic game on our television.  Soon, more advanced games were on the horizon.  Because of my Toy Industry connections, we soon had Mattel's Intellivision, Coleco's Colecovision, and advanced Atari Units.  We were able to play arcade games on our television!!  Then in 1984 or so, a company out of Japan, Nintendo, decided to market their new console and picked Boston as their test market.  Having a lot of stores in the Boston area, we, at Child World, worked closely with them to bring Nintendo to market.  Wow, we now had access to Mario, PacMan, Frogger and others.

The early to mid 80's was also the beginning of personal computers to the masses,  In 1984 or so, I had spent a whole weekend at my kitchen table, working on annual budgets.  With my green 12 column accounting pad, a pencil and a handheld calculator, I toiled over the minutia of that budget, writing, calculating, erasing and recalculating.  I knew there was a better way.  On Monday morning I dropped the whole package on the CEO's desk and told him that this was the last time I would do budgets without a desktop computer.  Well, he called my bluff...at 4:00 that afternoon the IT department delivered this big box with a cathode ray monitor to my office and set it up on my credenza.  But, I had no idea how to use it!!  

In our Financial planning office, there was a newly minted Harvard MBA, that surely had the knowledge I needed.  Offering to buy him dinner for several nights, he came to my office and taught me how to use Lotus123.  I became an expert, and while my counterparts in other departments continued with their antiquated methods, I was off and running!  Having the video game and PC categories under my purveyance, I became very familiar with the ins and outs of personal computers.  While we were unsuccessful in getting Apple and IBM to sell to us (they didn't want their computers to be viewed as Toys), we were successful with Commodore and an Apple knockoff from Franklin Computers.  I became obsessed with learning how to get the most out of these new technologies.

By the time we started The Sports Authority in 1987, having personal computers on my desk was a necessity, not a luxury.  I reveled in the opportunity to teach others how to use Lotus (this is before Excel) and the ins and outs of the Windows operating system.  Of course, I had a personal computer at home and began doing my personal finances and other chores, using the Windows based PC.  My friends would turn to me if they were having computer problems and  I could usually figure out how to get them out of a jam.

This period was also the beginning of the cell phone revolution, and my first cell phone was a huge block that I could move from my car to my boat or just to carry around.  We bought a new Lexus in 1990 that came with a built-in cell phone!!  Then, cell phones became smaller and smaller and the flip phones that could also text became a thing.  From there, we went to The Blackberry, a wonderful device that made text communication easier.  I went nowhere without my Blackberry and was loathe to give it up!

However, in 2007, Apple unveiled the most talked about device that they had been developing since 2005..The iPhone 1.  In my view, this changed EVERYTHING.  Now, we had a computer, a phone and a text device that could also access the World Wide Web in our pocket.  While it took a little while for me to give up my Blackberry, I was an early adaptor of this new technology.  And that led to other things...My daughter convinced me to switch from a Windows Based PC to an Apple PC and eventually adding an iPad, so that the PC, the tablet and the Phone could all share the same information.  Would wonders never cease to amaze?  There were many discussions within my peer group as to whether it was better to be an Apple person or a Microsoft devotee.  I became an Apple person and have never regretted it. 

The World Wide Web was actually first developed in Europe in 1991 although there had been earlier data share programs used by the military. However it was not until 1993 that it was placed in the public domain and could be accessed using Netscape or Mosaic, that it really got recognized as a tool for business and personal use. But even then, there was less than a few thousand web sites that you could access.  As web access increased in the mid 1990's, companies such as AOL and Yahoo began the commercialization of the internet.

So, why am I writing about internet history?  Because it all leads up to my latest curiosity...Artificial Intelligence -AI.  Not knowing much about AI chats etc, I turned to a new friend of mine with some questions.  One of which was, if I fed all of my blogs into an AI bot and asked them to analyze those blogs and suggest topics to write about, would they be able to do that.  He encouraged me to give it a try. (Thanks Will!)  

So I downloaded Chat GPT, CoPilot, Gemini and the latest, Claude (thanks for this suggestion, Brad!) and fed them the same exact instructions:  "Analyze the blogs at http://roysjourney.blogspot.com and suggest new topics to write about."  I was most impressed with the results I got from CoPilot and Claude.  I thought they did a good job of capturing the essence and writing style of my previous Blogs and had good specific suggestions for future blogs.  Gemini (Google) had the least useful analysis and ChatGP was pretty thorough once it went to the correct website..for some reason it initially picked up writings from another roysjourney at another website not related to blogspot!

Claude said "Roy's best writing happens when he combines a specific memory with a bigger truth.  He writes with warmth, humor and real depth across several distinct themes."  It then goes on to break down those themes and give specific topic suggestions.

CoPilot said  - "Your blog has three powerful pillars -personal health, nostalgic storytelling and social/political reflection -and you can expand each of them into fresh, compelling topics that keep your voice at the center.  Your strongest posts combine personal story + cultural reflection. Lean into that intersection."  It then gave very specific Blog titles and ideas.

ChatGP said - "Your blog reads much more like a personal chronicle of lived experience.  In short:this is real-world experience-based insight, not abstract philosophy."  It continues with things that are strong and where the blog can be stronger.  It also goes into very specific suggestions.

Bottom line...Going forward, I will take some of their suggestions of topics and maybe this foundation will help make the blog more enjoyable for all.  However, I don't plan on letting any of these Bots do my writing for me...it is my therapy and that would defeat the whole purpose of writing this blog.

And The Journey continues..........

PS:  As always, if you want to be removed from my distribution list, just let me know...Also, if you have friends that might benefit from or enjoy getting these, just send me their email address.  I don't post it on Facebook any longer.

We Are Legendary

I usually write all of my Blog Posts and don't copy from other sources.  However, this post I found on Substack is so on point, I want to share it with you...

We are often called “the elderly,” but that quiet label hides a truth most people rarely pause to consider—we are the last living witnesses of a world that no longer exists.

Look closely at us and you might see gray hair, slower steps, or the quiet patience that time teaches. But if you truly listen to our story, you will realize something extraordinary. We are not simply older people moving through the final chapters of life. We are the survivors of a breathtaking transformation in human history, a generation that walked from the slow rhythm of an analog world into the dazzling speed of a digital one without losing our sense of humanity along the way.

Our journey began in a very different world.

Many of us were born in the 1940s, 1950s, and early 1960s, when the scars of World War II were still fresh and the world was trying to rebuild itself. Cities were rising again from rubble, families were learning how to hope after years of uncertainty, and childhood unfolded in ways that would feel almost unrecognizable to younger generations today.

Our toys were simple.

We played marbles in dusty yards and hopscotch on cracked sidewalks. We gathered around kitchen tables to play checkers and cards while the smell of dinner filled the house. When the streetlights flickered on in the evening, it was the universal signal that childhood adventures were over for the day and it was time to go home.

There were no smartphones.

No streaming videos.

No endless scroll of digital distractions.

Instead, we built our memories in the real world—with scraped knees, laughter echoing down neighborhood streets, and friendships that formed face to face.

Music became one of the defining soundtracks of our youth.

The 1960s and 1970s arrived like a wave of color and rebellion. We watched as culture shifted around us, carried by electric guitars and voices that dared to question the world. For many of us, gatherings like the legendary Woodstock Festival of 1969 symbolized something powerful: the belief that peace, music, and community could reshape the future.

Hundreds of thousands of young people stood together in muddy fields, listening to artists who poured raw emotion into towering speakers known as the Wall of Sound. Those concerts were not just entertainment—they were moments when strangers felt like a single generation singing the same hope under an open sky.

Education looked different then too.

Our notebooks were filled with handwritten notes carefully copied from chalkboards. Research required patience, libraries, and stacks of heavy books rather than a quick internet search. We learned to slow down and think through ideas because information did not arrive instantly.

Mistakes were corrected with erasers and ink.

Not with the click of a “delete” button.

Love also carried a different rhythm.

We fell in love while vinyl records spun on turntables and cassette tapes clicked softly inside plastic players. Music became the background to first dances, long conversations, and dreams about the future. Those relationships grew into marriages, families, and lives built step by step through the 1980s and 1990s, decades that saw technology begin to reshape the world around us.

Yet nothing compares to the bridge our generation has crossed.

We are the only generation to have experienced an entirely analog childhood and a fully digital adulthood.

We remember waiting days—or sometimes weeks—for handwritten letters to arrive in the mail. We remember rotary telephones and party lines where neighbors could accidentally overhear conversations. Communication required patience and anticipation.

Today, we can see the face of a loved one across the ocean instantly on a screen small enough to fit in a pocket.

The world changed in ways few could have imagined.

We watched humanity land on the Moon in 1969, a moment when millions of people sat in living rooms staring at black-and-white televisions as Neil Armstrong took humanity’s first steps on another world. We saw the rise of personal computers, the birth of the internet, and eventually the arrival of smartphones that placed entire libraries of knowledge in our hands.

Machines that once filled entire rooms now exist on devices lighter than a paperback book.

We moved from punch cards and mechanical tools to artificial intelligence and global networks connecting billions of people instantly.

And through every shift, we adapted.

Our bodies carry the marks of the times we lived through as well.

We grew up during fears of polio and tuberculosis, illnesses that once terrified entire communities before vaccines helped bring them under control. We witnessed the global challenges of pandemics and health crises across decades, including the recent silence and uncertainty of COVID-19, which reminded the world that resilience is still required in every generation.

Science itself transformed before our eyes.

We saw the discovery of the structure of DNA, the decoding of the human genome, and the early steps into gene therapy and advanced medicine. Transportation evolved from simple bicycles and steam engines to hybrid vehicles and electric cars gliding almost silently through city streets.

Few generations have witnessed such sweeping change.

And yet, despite everything that evolved around us, certain things remain unchanged.

We still understand the joy of a cold glass bottle of lemonade on a hot afternoon.

We still remember the taste of vegetables picked straight from a garden.

We still know the value of a long conversation that unfolds slowly without a keyboard or screen interrupting it.

Our memories stretch across decades.

We have celebrated births, mourned losses, watched friends depart, and carried their stories forward. Those who remain share something rare: the experience of standing at the crossroads of history, holding memories from a world that younger generations know only through photographs and stories.

But we are not relics.

We are living bridges.

Our perspective reminds the modern world that progress does not have to erase wisdom. The speed of technology does not have to replace patience, kindness, or reflection. We remember what life felt like before everything moved so fast—and that memory carries quiet lessons worth sharing.

So when someone calls us “elderly,” we can smile.

Because behind that word lies something extraordinary.

We are the generation that crossed two centuries, witnessed eight decades of transformation, and walked from the age of handwritten letters to the era of artificial intelligence.

What a life we have lived.

What a remarkable story we continue to carry.

And if you belong to this generation, take a moment today to look in the mirror and recognize something powerful.

You are not simply growing older.

You are living history.

You are part of a generation that will always remain one of a kind.

And perhaps, in the quietest and most meaningful way, you are becoming legendary.

Life Interrupted

It has been awhile since my last Blog Post.  

Sometimes, life has a way of being interrupted and what was formerly routine becomes hard to realize.  Since you follow me on Roy's Journey, I thought I would update you on what is going on with me!

As you all know, I had a kidney transplant in October of 2020 after having been diagnosed with a rare kidney disease in 2019.  At that time, I was informed that if the disease invaded the new kidney, I would not be eligible for a 2nd transplant.  Two and a half years later, the disease did, in fact, invade the new kidney.  But after 8 weeks of chemo treatments, we halted the progression of the disease.

This past Fall, the disease was back and we repeated the 8 weeks of Rituximab.  However, this time, it did not stop the disease and I slowly have gone into total kidney failure.  On January 31st, I was rushed to the emergency room with several problems.  The flu, an UTI, a massive ulcer in my digestive tract, an infection in the transplanted kidney, and I ultimately contracted sepsis in the hospital.  Sepsis is a life threatening medical emergency caused by the body's extreme, overactive response to an infection, which damages its own tissues and organs.  It occurs when an infection triggers a chain reaction throughout the body, potentially leading to widespread inflammation, organ failure, septic shock and death.

However, after 14 nights in the hospital I was able to come home...much weakened but thankful to the Doctors and Nurses, my Connie, Lisa and Brad that saw me through this nightmare.  With a port for dialysis installed in my chest and neck, I began the new routine of 3 days a week dialysis.  A week or two later, my heart decided to go back into afib and I was again admitted to the hospital.  After shocking the heart back into rhythm, I was discharged after 5 nights.

I am now home and continue to go for dialysis 3 mornings a week and am working with a PT a couple of days a week to regain some of the strength lost after 19 days laying in a hospital bed.  This is the new normal for me...but I am ready to move forward and adjust my life to accommodate the reality.

I want to thank all of those that have been by my side during this bump in the road.  First, my partner in everything, Connie, who has been by my side throughout this journey.  Lisa and Brad, who stayed by me in the hospital and even stole a wheelchair to get me out of the Rehab facility I refused to stay in.  My brothers and sisters-in-law who check up on me often, and my close friends, who have brought dinners, visited and continuously check on me and are the real heroes in this Journey.  Without others support, this Journey would be much more difficult.  I cannot say Thank You enough!

So, where do we go from here?  I have accepted the fact that dialysis is now part of my life.  Unlike the peritoneal dialysis I was on prior to the transplant where I was hooked up to a machine for 8 hours every night at home, I have opted for Hemo Dialysis, whereby I go to a facility 3 mornings a week.  The fistula in my arm is maturing and once it is ready, the fistula will provide easier access for dialysis and I can have the port in my chest/neck removed.  By opting for hemo dialysis, we can still travel...dialysis is available from many dialysis centers throughout the world.  

I am not looking for sympathy.  I consider myself lucky...I am still here, feisty as ever and ready to take on the world!

And The Journey Continues.....