A ThinkPad's Retirement
Bidding the Old Workhorse Goodbye
It’s going to be a monumental week in the Bryan household. I’m finally putting my trusty steed of a computer out to pasture. We’ve been constant companions, she and I, earning a living writing educational books, K-12 test passages and questions, stories and articles for adults and children. We’ve plodded across thousands of pages, sowing millions of letters into words which have grown into emails, blog posts, picture books, educational books, nonfiction and fiction and finally my dream-come-true middle-grade novel Hotdog’s Last Hurrah to be published (at last, miraculously!) in 2027 by Charlesbridge Publishing.
There’s nothing really wrong with my old girl, except that after ten years of dedicated service, she’s getting a bit tempermental with her sleepy Z key. And she balks when it’s time to open the Zoom door for early-morning sprints. Plus, Jamie, her groomer, who NEVER calls, called to inform me that the price on new computers was going up A LOT on Monday, and if I was going to do it affordably, I’d better do it NOW!
Still, I hate to see my old girl go. Though she won’t be going far. Merely to Floyd’s side of our desk where she’ll be playing hours of Solitaire, watching Stephen Colbert and Jimmy Kimmel monologues, googling and printing reams of recipes. But she’s still got a lot to give—replacing his old computer that refused to accept the Windows 11 update and providing her extra USB port so he can plug in the CD player and blast his music while he’s baking. I hope she likes Lady Gaga, the BeeGees, and Billy Joel. It’s nice to think my granddam won’t be entirely retired.
When I get homesick for her, I can always reach over and give her KEEP CALM and SPARKLE ON sticker a loving pat. That sticker was a gift from Sarah Aronson around the time we met in 2017 and has motivated me ever since. I know Floyd will appreciate that sentiment (if not always follow it!) especially when that Z key acts up or a recipe fails.
Jamie tells me the new computer won’t hold a candle to my old girl. That they just don’t make ‘em like they used to. But I’ll go ahead and brand the whippersnapper with the new sticker daughter Bethany gave me and hope for the best.
So long old friend. Literally, I couldn’t have done it without you.
Dale
Love this, Dale! ❤️