THE first time I made a move on a girl was in 1988 during a school trip to Zeerust. I was in Standard 3, or Grade 5 as they have it these days. It was not the best of pick up lines but it got me somewhere. I think I said something about her plaited hair.
At the end of the day, I got what was very important for the “relationship” to flourish; she had scribbled her name, that of her school and the address ... Private Bag X something, on a piece of Lexington cigarette card box. I was on cloud nine and had all the bragging rights as we drove back from that part of Bophuthatswana in our Uncle Shakes Tours bus.
From there on, we exchanged letters. It was always a warm feeling for me to receive her notes through my own school’s postal address. I was always looking forward to boarding a Bophuthatswana Transport Holdings (BTH) bus to Hammanskraal to post her letters almost every weekend. The thrill of licking that R0, 20 (two bob) stamp and dropping the pink envelope into the BIG red post office drum was priceless.
But then, things changed later in the early 1990s as we started keeping in touch with our cheris via telephone. If there was no phone at her home, you’d have to keep holding while the neighbours scrambled around the neighbourhood trying to look for her.
And then with the new political dispensation, came the new way for South Africans to communicate. The GSM technology took communication to an unprecedented level as families and loved ones could talk to each other sans wires and exchange trunks.
How cellular technology has developed and improved, from the days when people got excited about sending an SMS from a Nokia 5110 to today’s iPads and catching up with Facebook “family” from anywhere via an assortment of smart phones, is a well documented journey.
That brings me to the global “crisis” that smart phone junkies went through when the BlackBerry service went haywire for a few days this week. The temporary inconvenience painted a clear picture of how dangerously dependent we have become on this smart technology.
One of my friends, who has developed a habit of asking for a BBM pin instead of traditionally hassling for a cell number when he meets a new girl, painted a worrying picture during the breakdown of BlackBerry services. It was as if his life depended on it.
Now that the BB service is back, is it not worth asking a few questions about how we as humanity have grown to attach so much emotions and everything on these gadgets? Is the new mobile technology culture really worth the smart phones driving it?
Youths on MXit in South Africa spend more time chatting about their love lives than doing school work, according to a Unicef study released in October 2011. Were you entirely surprised?
Have you seen a situation where a couple is sitting in a restaurant or travelling in the same car but both minding their own business on their phones? Have these smart phones cut down on the level of attention and affection lovers used to give to each other?
I really miss the days when I could just take leisure walks with my better half, chill on a boulder at a street corner while sipping on Sparletta Pine Nut and later exchange Wilsons Cherrols during that “Leroma” moment.
10 comments:
Ha ha ha...you are sick upstairs sonnie.You have just taken me back - BTH, Cherols, Lexingtone Cigarete and Posting letters and the school trips!!
A good one boy!
Sad but true. Smart phones have become the way of the furure. When the BB service brokedown, it felt like I'm stuck in the late nineties, there really was no difference between me and someone who had a 6110(nokia). What is said about youth spedning time on Mxit than studying is true. My niece who is 15yrs old would rather not eat lunch at school if she doesn't have airtym. Gone are those days......
Mezosti...You've just taken me back to the days when people knew what an appointment and a promise really meant. when commitments used to be kept all the time.....that's a nice piece Morena....
hahahahaha.....you forgot a "Boy"/"Girl" cap on with a well chosen Habit jean..probably some Gipsy or Bobs sneakers in style - eish !a title on your letter would be:"High gate of Jerusalem,no one can climb it except you and me" Lord have mercy....
Well said hey. Your recollection of past events Buti even traces back the foot steps made on sea-sand, good memory! These are some of the goodies that makes one to wish we can turn back the hands of time. It's a pity smart phones have made life not be too smart instead.
Aah Malome!great one indeed.you just took me home back into time when PM10 was "thee" power source.when television used to show a big clock through out the day waiting for a broadcast slot between 5 and 7.lekker grappies and stories chilling around the Mbaola until phokoje a re bo sele.how I wanna go back,Lord knows.I love technology...
Hey Amos great article. I was really worried about people who went "beserk" because their BlackBerry was not working! I worry about people who place so much dependence on one little gadget that has an expiry date.
Always have a backup!
Kgale o jola man ...1988 :) and o ne o thola kae box ya BB on a school trip... naughty naughty... LoL
Thanks for the great laugh and the nostalgia choma.
Sure bro, we can't even memorise people's telephone/cell numbers these days because everything's stored on these gadgets memory.I used to know my first girlfriend's home telephone number and many other important numbers by heart; you only had to memorise the last four numbers since the area code was obvious.
Our language has also been terribly affected as we are now used 2 txng. Ds gdgets hv inblt dctionrs 2 chk our splng 4 us. Kunzima!
Eeish..i remember when Van Rijn empy boxes were used as red and yellow cards at the soccer matches on the dusty grounds.When you have "Sterio" listening to Lucky Dube,Wilson Phillips and Milli Vanili wearinmg Habit trouser and mashwabana(shirt) you were on style not forgetting Chicco style on your head.When we used to propose and be given "di-half hlombe" and be very exited that a girl has given you a promise.
Those were the days man and thanks for taking us though those times.
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