Tuesday, May 12, 2020

I am a barely-literate-Mac-owner.  Ken and our youngest son Jon had an 
Apple-2E way back in the day.  The schools didn't even have computers at the time.  Of course, Ken would have one, and of course he and Jon learned together.  Ken was back from Viet Nam, just retired and finally getting to be a "real" parent.  Our other children were gone to college by then.  

The summer after Jon was in the third grade, the principal called us and asked if Jon could come teach them how to use the new systems they were installing--  Because nobody had ever used a computer.  Jon--ten years old--went to the school every day for weeks that summer, teaching the teachers the basics. And when school began, he was the tech advisor for the teachers.  

But...he wasn't allowed to use the computers himself.  It would have smacked of favoritism.  Go figure!!!  But a couple of times a day, the loudspeaker in his classroom would issue a call, "Would Jon Jacks please come to the principal's office."  I'm sure the other kids thought he was in trouble.

A couple of years ago when I was getting ready to move to Edmond and was cleaning out junk, I came across the ancient Apple 2E and called Jon--who was by then the physics teacher at Moore.  "What do I do with this," I asked him.  

He was excited.  He didn't know I still had it forty or more years later.  He took it to the high school and set it up in the classroom.  Kids were fascinated--and had fun exploring the primitive computer that people used back then.

I am still in the primitive learning stage.  Where is Jon when I need him!!  I called Craig--Becky's husband--to come help me this morning.  I can't get my email and have no idea what to do.  I need a third grader. 

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