Old Golds. Thanks For The Memories!

I see Bruce Tolentino’s “Alphabet Of The Obsolete” Facebook sharing as 26 intellectual reminders more than visual or archetypal, historical.

The list brings me back to 1975-1981:

  1. Antenna.
  2. Book, bookstore.
  3. Cursive writing.
  4. Dictionary.
  5. Encyclopedia.
  6. Film.
  7. Grammar.
  8. Hotel key.
  9. Ink.
  10. Jar Jar.
  11. Knobs.
  12. Landline.
  13. Map.
  14. Newspaper.
  15. Optical disk.
  16. Privacy.
  17. Quality.
  18. Rolodex.
  19. Stereo.
  20. Typewriter.
  21. Underage.
  22. VHS.
  23. Watch.
  24. Xerox.
  25. Yellow paper.
  26. Zip code.

My wife Ampy and I got married on 18 March 1967, the birthday of her father Gabriel – but we told no one. We have since then 13 children, the youngest in 1990. Jump to 2020: I am The BlogFather, the one with thousands of essays in the Internet. I have always been prolific!

From 1975 to 1981, I was Chief Information Officer of the Forest Research Institute, FORI; founded and was Editor In Chief of its 3 major publications: the monthly newsletter Canopy, quarterly technical journal Sylvatrop, and quarterly popular color magazine Habitat, which I patterned after the US National Geographic. I was a happy copycat.

In those years, we used books at the library, dictionary, encyclopedia, lots of films, letters, newspapers, typewriter, yellow paper.   

Ampy was Secretary to the Director of the Forest Products Research & Industries Development Commission, FORPRIDECOM. FORI and FORPRIDECOM were neighbors literally. FORI for forest production, FORPRIDECOM for forest products. Marriage made in heaven.

At home, the TV antenna has long gone. We are not thinking of a new TV set because we have the Internet (PLDT HomeFibr) and we have a laptop and a netbook to tap the endless digital wealth that it offers.

And we don’t go to the bookstore to buy books anymore.

Cursive writing is still with me – I keep about a dozen notes-book (and Uni pens) around the house for my random thoughts. Very useful. I don’t rely on memory.

Dictionary, yes, I use the American Heritage Dictionary all the time, the book copy at home but mostly the Internet.

Encyclopedia, I use Wikipediaand Britannica online. A writer cannot remember everything; also, there are great quotes to be had if you just look around.

Films gone. I now have a Lumix FZ100 digital camera with superzoom. I simply set to iA, intelligent Auto, and I simply shoot, shoot, shoot anytime.

Grammar, I still have to reread my essays many times over to catch any hidden error.

Newspaper, we have stopped buying. When you browse Facebook, you read all kinds of news – and non-news. It’s up for you to discern!

Quality is what you make it. I always revise my essays at least 7 times to raise the level of quality from Good to Best. If you don’t have patience, you cannot have quality.

My watch now is my cellphone, which gives me also the day and time.

Essentially, I have bid goodbye to the yellow paper and the zip code.

Almost 80, am I obsolete? I have never been so creative, thank God! @517

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