understanding

  I made a little post about being at the store. I was checking out and the sales lady says, go ahead and swipe it. I looked at her and smiled saying, I'm old enough to remember when that was a bad thing. She didn't catch that double entendre right away so I added, you would be calling the police about now. She did get it then and chuckled. I then told my wife the joke and she didn't catch it right away either. I had to explain. Well, we all have those moments when something just sails over our heads, I know it happens to me more often than I would like. But that got me to thinking.

 Expressions, slang, even meanings of words change over time and usage. Swipe is one of those. Today we think of swiping a card through a slot to pay for something. I remember well when such a thing didn't exist. To swipe meant to steal something, or to take a swing (swipe) at someone. Neither action was a good thing. Scroll is another word. We scroll down the page of a computer screen. In the past a scroll was an ancient form of text. You know, like the dead sea scrolls. Remember when a nook was a corner or small hidden space? That isn't what a nook is today. You can read a book on a nook these days. ATM is understood by everyone. 

 That's just a couple I'm certain you can think of many more. I was thinking the other day about writing checks. I guess some folks still do that, I do have a check book but couldn't say the last time I wrote a check. Now I just swipe it! If you're not swiping you can simply enter the info into the block and hit pay now. That charge will be immediately deducted from your account. Yeah that's the thing about atm cards and swiping, you can't bounce them. Checks would bounce, at least back in the old days they would. Remember writing that check the day before payday? Maybe even two days before payday. That check wouldn't hit the bank for about three days, it's cool. 

 Streaming, application and mobile device. You know what all those things are don't you? There are streaming applications you can install on your mobile device. You can even snyc them across all your devices. All of that is something I am becoming more aware of every time I need to talk to tech support. Of course, I remember when there was no one to call except the repair man when something didn't work. I've even been asked, what browser are you using? Same as always, my own two eyes, what else would I use? Yeah, that is lost on many people too.  But I've been told to update my browser, in fact, my computer does that automatically. I'd say that was convenient. Across all devices and platforms. There are a lot of platforms out there. Haven't seen any trains though. 

 I do enjoy puns and word play. It keeps the mind sharp, I think. Forces the mind to go in a different direction sometimes. At other times we used to say you would get off track. That expression most likely started with trains and what a wreck that would cause when they went off the track. It can be a mess when you get off track. I like all the little expressions that you here in different areas of the country. Dialects developed over the years. Eventually they fade away. Each generation adds and subtracts from all of that. Don't want to be square man. Cool however has stuck around for quite a while and is still being used today. Nobody says you're square though. It's like being hip, no one says that either. Sometimes things just don't make sense. Like self-checkout. I'm supposed to just check myself out? Yes, but there is an employee that does nothing but make sure you pay for what you check while "secretly" making sure you check out everything you have checked out. It's like the honor system, except without honor. Or at least they don't trust your honorable intentions to check yourself out. But, it can be convenient. And that takes me back to another blog. If you want it done right, do it yourself. Do it yourself has become a marketing plan, we are being told we can do it ourselves, and it is a convenance to us, a service they provide. We can do their job for them, now how convenient is that? When I'm done checking myself out, I can just swipe it. Well except that is what the employee is there for, to make sure I don't swipe it.