Folks aren’t counting on each other like we were 50 years ago. Technology is the wedge that’s come between us.

Our parents didn’t worry about us much when we left the house. Everyone felt that if their kid got into a bind, someone would lend a hand.

And for the most part, that was true. I can remember deciding to go visit my aunt and uncle in the Dallas area. I told my mom my plans, threw a map in the glove box of my 1972 Oldsmobile Cutlass Supreme, and headed out.

I was 16.

I made my own money, paid for my own car, and knew how to work on it. With my tools and extra hoses and belts in the trunk, my parents didn’t worry much about me. They knew that I could take care of myself. And if I had a big issue, someone would stop and help.

But technology has reduced our need for each other. Reduced the need to almost zero.

For example, there are some things that we’ve experienced that our grandkids will never know.

These include the need for jumper cables, not enough cash to go to a movie theater, getting lost, and difficult math. Technology has eliminated virtually all of these issues.

Even though our moms and dads relied on the goodness of strangers, it didn’t mean they didn’t teach us to have jumper cables in our cars.

I still keep them in all of my vehicles. They’re in the trunk for the inevitability of a car that won’t crank. Mine or someone else’s.

Eventually, someone is going to need a jump. This is where humanity can come together.

Me yelling out to a lady in a movie theater parking lot: “Hello, Ma’am! Could you give me a jump? My battery is dead. I have some cables.”

Lady: “Of course. I’m Susan. Happy to help.”

When I got home, I explained to my wife that my battery died at the movie theater, but some nice lady named Susan helped me out by giving me a jump.

Wife: “Susan gave you a jump? Who’s Susan?”

But jumper cables are now all but obsolete. Companies make and sell a battery pack with connectors that can crank anything up to the size of an 18-wheeler. And the battery pack isn’t much bigger than a small paperback book.

No need for Susan.

And leaving your lights on while you’re in the theater? Not an issue nowadays. Your car is smart enough to know you left them on, and it shuts them off for you. Cars know just about everything these days.

Me: “Alexa, please help me to remember to turn off the lights in the car.”

Alexa: “My name is Siri. Who’s Alexa?”

Me: “Sorry, I meant Siri.”

Siri: “Maybe you should ask Susan for help with your car lights.”

And that movie theater where you can’t afford tickets anymore? People now build an entertainment room in their homes. The good news is you don’t have to sneak snacks into the theater to avoid ridiculous popcorn prices. The bad news is you’re watching movies by yourself if your wife is still mad about Susan.

On the outside chance you still go to a movie theater, you’ll never get lost. That folded map I still keep in the door pocket of my car isn’t needed now, since I can just ask for directions on my phone.

Me: “Siri, please get me directions to the Cineplex.”

Siri: “From what I hear, your wife has already told you where to go.”

And it used to take more than one person to make change. If you bought a movie ticket, someone took your money and then counted out your cash back. Now, you can either wave your phone over a credit card machine, or do the transaction ahead of time and they’ll email or text you your tickets.

Me: “Siri, please buy two tickets to the new James Bond movie at the Cineplex for the 2 o’clock show.”

Siri: “Maybe you should buy tickets to, ‘The First Wives Club,’ instead?”

I’m reading a lot in the paper nowadays about self-driving cars. They’ve already started using them for taxicabs, delivery trucks, and even some personal vehicles.

I may book one to go to the movies this weekend. I hear they’re showing the old Madonna movie, “Desperately Seeking Susan.”

 

©2025 John Moore

John’s books, Puns for Groan People and Write of Passage: A Southerner’s View of Then and Now Vol. 1 and Vol. 2, are available on his website TheCountryWriter.com, where you can also send him a message.