A Quick Marriage and A Speedy Divorce

I am determined to embrace technology and give it a special place in my heart, so it was obvious to me to use my extra birthday money to buy an electronic gadget. Now which one? Kindle, IPOD, or cell phone. The Kindle looks alluring with its promise of holding thousands of books in a thin, 6 inch electronic display. This means that I could read multiple books at a time without the bulk of carrying them wherever I go. I often like to read a fiction and non-fiction work simultaneously, so this certainly would be a great boon. The Kindle also has the ability to highlight, comment and bookmark passages, another plus. You can subscribe to magazines and newspapers via Kindle for a fraction of the regular price. Again that was appealing. However, the thought of not holding a real book in my hand while reading, I don't know, it just seems so unnatural, like eating meal bars instead of real food. The intellectual nutrition is there, but not the taste.

OK, on to the next gadget. Since I have a cell phone already that I don't use except for emergencies, buying a new one appears to be a waste.

Now that leaves the IPOD. I love music, all kinds, but especially uplifting Christian music. Groups like Selah and Casting Crowns; individuals like John Michael Talbot and Michael W. Smith are all high on my list. Since I've been going to a health club to exercise this seemed like a great way to Praise the Lord while working out. The music and videos at the club are not so uplifting. I took my daughter and husband with me to Best Buy and put down my gift cards for a shiny new blue Nano IPOD that even offered the ability to tune in to radio stations. WOW! That really sold me because I could also listen to WMBI and KLOVE, two of my favorite Christian radio stations. My daughter showed me how to access the I-tunes website that would help me download my CDs into my computer so I could then transfer them to my IPOD. I spent my entire Saturday and part of Sunday downloading music. I even discovered that I could download podcasts which are talk show segments. Another great aspect of the IPOD, I thought. I carried my IPOD proudly into the gym and plugged in while I jogged away. It was sweet and I felt my feet lifted up to some great music, my music.

After the workout I returned home and placed my IPOD into my other new gadget, a clock radio that would wake you up to your IPOD music. I was really going to get my money's worth from this gadget. I finally separated myself my IPOD for a some dinner time and when I returned I could not get it to work at all. It was totally dead, no sound, no menu, no nothing. I thought perhaps that I had shut it off accidentally, but no, I turned to the on button and the black hole with no music was still there. I immediately went to my computer and plugged it in, per the directions. A message popped up that said my IPOD was corrupted. Corrupted, yikes! It was made in China, not Chicago. What caused the corruption,? Was the IPOD out to thwart my desire to fill my mind with praises to the Lord? The IPOD wizard then informed me that my IPOD would have to be reformatted and I would loose all the music I had just spent an entire day downloading. That seemed very cruel and close to thievery. I mean, I spent an entire day and a half transferring tunes and I even purchased a couple from I-tunes. Does that mean that if I wanted those songs on the IPOD again I would have to pay another fee? "Oh well," I thought I've gone this far, why not keep going, so I left my IPOD plugged in overnight and went to bed with images of Nanos singing me softly to sleep.

The next morning I awoke before the alarm, eager to check on the progress of my little blue wonder. But no, nothing, instead there was a post mortem posted on the website, "An unknown error exists." Unknown error, unknown error? What does that mean? Now I was really upset. Since I am really trying to be techno savvy, I turned to Google and typed in "IPOD Corruption." I found that I was not alone in my grief and anger, others had been faced with corruption, some even multiple times. Many were also grieving the time lost downloading and re-downloading music. Some had taken the gadget back for a new one and others tried a technique recommended by a G.I. stationed in Iraq. The soldier said he was able to fix his IPOD by getting a small screw driver, taking it apart, shaking it and then putting it back together.

I felt backed into a corner I had to make a decision about my relationship with my IPOD. Would I opt for counseling (shaking it), separation (returning it for another one) or divorce (returning the IPOD and IPOD radio and getting my cash back)? My decision was rather quick, almost as quick as my decision to purchase it. No more Nanos for me, back to the good old CDs.

"Praise the Lord. For it is good to sing praises to our God; for it is pleasant and praise is becoming." Psalm 147:1