VHS? or DVD?

Our mom never figured out modern technology.

All the acronyms had her flummoxed.
Was it VHS or VCR?
Was it a record or an album?
Did you push buttons or turn up the volume knob?
She never did understand the cordless phone...how could buttons be on the handset? Where did you talk?

But she did love her music.
There was a tune she constantly hummed or whistled.
My sister went to a renowned record store to sing the little tune.
The proprietors knew the song and we were glad to know.

Our brothers were musical as were our grandmothers who were also painters. Our dad painted, carved, built and gardened with great talent, but he had to work in real estate to live up to his family's expectations.

One brother played piano, banjo, drums and sang in the Dartmouth glee club. Today's musicians laughed at that antiquated phrase.
"Glee club, what the heck is that?'
They prefer 'choral group' or 'vocalists'.
Glee club? They shook their heads.

Now there are ipods and something else new at MacWorld that I haven't even begun to understand. I barely get ipods! But I did crochet an ipod holder...called it an iknit. Couldn't use an ipod if I tried.

It's so weird to see students rubbing their fingers on this hunk of plastic and finding one of 2000 tunes. It's so weird to see them tapping on their cell phones...are they socializing or cheating or both?
"I'm not using my phone!" as they push it farther back in their backpacks.
"No backpacks on the desk!" I see tapping when they lean down to 'get a pencil'.

"No ipods during lectures!"
Heads nod to an invisible beat, the ear pods hidden in sweatshirt hoods. "Remove hoods and hats!" "But I'm freezing!"

Remember when it was only passing notes?

My other brother played piano and anything else he could get his hands on.
He sculpted without any training. These were truly fine art.
In time he became a well known and respected sculptor of marine mammals. Oh, how the water skimmed over the humpback's body with the grain of the polished wood!

The older brother paved the way, carving birds of all kinds. Snow geese for Mikail Gorbachev to represent freedom that now linked Russia and America.
The iron curtain stopped the rest of us, but the snow goose kept migrating, nothing could stop them.

We sisters paint. Third generation.
For some reason we had to wait until dad and P. died.
They were too big a presence to compete with.
Now we awake and find we're artists as well! Out from beneath the competitive family creativity. Freedom from fear of criticism.
No one could see us next to those big 6 foot tall, handsome men.

And now I even write, something new. Something riddiculed as a young girl.
The artist will not stay hidden any longer. Grizzly bear protector no longer needed.