Being Dragged by My Heels, Kicking and Screaming All the Way...

That pretty well describes how I have navigated the electronics age we live in today. It all started while I was serving as the assistant public affairs officer at the old Naval Supply Center. I'll never forget the day my boss at the time came and told me that my dear ol' typewriter was soon going to be replaced with a Wang computer. Let's just say the happy little smile on her face soon changed when I told her what she basically could do with that Wang.

And later, when the dreaded piece of new equipment showed up on my desk, and she realized I wasn't just discontented but was armed for "war," she and I ended up having many "heart to heart" conversations, which usually ended in a stalemate. Let's just say she was ill-prepared to deal with a retired Navy chief, especially one who never had a problem telling someone else what he thought...whether they wanted to hear it or not. She seemed taken aback by the thought of having to do battle with me for the long haul.

Long story short, though, technicians eventually installed the Wang, I attended some classes to learn how to operate it, and my boss and I signed a truce...followed shortly thereafter by my taking a new job.

Then came cellphones, which I actually welcomed at first. It gave me peace of mind, having a means of communication anytime I was on the water alone. What I didn't realize, however, was the giant pain in the arse cellphones soon would evolve into. Once they reached the pocket size, complete with Internet access, and people could drive down the road while yakking to all their friends or playing games, my opinion of them changed dramatically.

It's anything but pleasant to get behind someone wobbling all over the road while trying to talk on their cellphone or get stuck behind someone who sits through a whole light-change cycle because they're paying more attention to the phone than their driving. It's just a crying shame about all you can do to people like that is lay on your horn.

However, I did see a bit more justice meted out one summer day a few years ago. Seems a car full of young folks had the car stereo cranked up at a traffic light they were ignoring, and a fella in a jacked-up pickup in the next lane tossed his iced drink into their convertible (with the top down, I might add) as he passed by 'em. Can't remember a time when I ever laughed any harder.

And finally, I come to the topic of all the electronic devices that you find on bass boats today...all of which, as far as I'm concerned, are nothing more or less than trip hazards looking for a place to nab the first unsuspecting soul. More importantly, though, I think too many people are letting themselves be blindsided by what all these "gimmicks" are doing to our sport.

You don't have to take my word for it. Click on the following link (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3FJVq90_CYU) and listen to what one of the "grandfathers" of our sport, Hank Parker, had to say  recently about the topic of forward-facing sonar. His comments are included as part of the Randy Blaukat show at the above link.