According to an article I read on the front page of today's newspaper, millions of Americans are now wearing electronic devices and downloading apps on their cellphones that track everything from how many steps it takes to walk off the calories in a Whopper to how well they're sleeping at night. The same article went on to say that the market for wearable wireless gadgets in the field of fitness and health will grow to 170 million devices in 2017, up from 21 million in 2011. That's mind-staggering, as far as I'm concerned.
There are times when I get frustrated just trying to set one of the modern, low-end wristwatches you buy off the shelf in any local Walmart. The same thing goes for my trying to get rid of something as simple as a "missed call" icon on my "very basic" cellphone. Can you imagine what I'd do with a really sophisticated gadget? Let's just say the nearest wall might be "wearing" it, because I never have been very long on patience. Oh, I'm better than I was when I was younger, but, believe me, there's still plenty of room for improvement--just ask my wife if you don't want to take my word for it. Be sure to ask her what I say about those drivers who hold me up at stoplights--after the light has turned green and they're still sitting there playing with their gadgets.
As a kid, I used to hear Pop say he wished he had a big truck with a steel-girder for a front bumper mounted on it so he could "move" people who got distracted at stoplights--and that was long before we had the wide array of electronic devices available today. So, I guess there must be some truth to that old saying: "Like father, like son."
Given the topic of discussion here, it only would be natural if you were wondering how many fishing gadgets I possess. The only electronic device I have--that I use--is a very basic depthfinder on my boat. Beyond that, all I have is a little, battery-powered "Bass Fishin'" game, which I received as a Christmas present some years back but which I never use any more. I don't even keep batteries in it.
Many years ago, I experimented with a couple of what you might call "gadget" baits. I had a whole assortment of Roland Martin's "Helicopter Lures." And when the "Flying Lures" came along, I got some of those, too. I tried both long enough to catch a few fish but nothing like the ones you saw in all the TV commercials. As a result, they ended up getting dumped from my tackleboxes long ago.
Now I won't go so far as to say I'm totally opposed to any kind of electronic device. As a matter of fact, if they were to invent a fishin' ball cap with some kind of protective deflector that displayed anytime a lure was whistling toward your head, I very well might be one of the first customers. I don't savor another trip to the doctor to have the barb from a lure's exploding treble hook removed from the back of my ol' noggin like occurred recently.
It wasn't my partner's fault--his bait simply was at the mercy of some strong wind gusts. Incidentally, for the benefit of anyone who's never experienced it, take my word for it: Getting whacked with a 1/4-oz. Pop-R will cause you to see a few stars and hear a few birds tweeting, too. I only hope if it ever happens to you that you're lucky enough to have a partner like mine. He insisted on taking me to the doctor, even though I didn't want to go, and he even paid for my medicine and gave me the T-shirt he won in a raffle drawing. It doesn't get any better than that.
If you're looking for a moral to this story, I don't reckon there really is one. I'm just saying there are a whole lotta gadgets on the market today--to the point where, as I often tell my wife, "they're making fools of otherwise bright Americans." After all, I'm one of those guys who wasn't even allowed to bring a calculator to school to help with my math tests. And now, kids take laptops to school every day of their life. That's OK, though, 'cause I still wouldn't trade my youth for everything kids have today. Life was simple and fun back in the '50s and '60s--it's "too hard" in many ways today.
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