A recent birthday and a vacation trip to New England made me realize how much our world has changed. Indulge me as I reminisce for just a minute.

Many years ago when I was sixteen, I took my first airline flight to visit my brother who was a student at the University of Colorado. I dressed up in my best coat and tie, like church, because that’s what everyone else was wearing on the plane. There weren’t many passengers younger than me and certainly no infants or “service animals.” The flight attendants, called stewardesses at that time, were young women no taller than about 5 feet nine and no heavier than about 150 lbs. The airline regulations made sure of that! Meals were served in both first class and coach. It was a serious business for serious travelers only and it was a pleasant, even exciting experience.

Today, the contrast couldn’t be greater. Most people show up in clothes more suitable for the beach than church, wearing flip flops and carrying a back pack. Passengers are of all ages, including fresh out of the oven, and animals abound – some of them “service animals” and some clearly not. Flight attendants come in all shapes and sizes, all ages and genders, including some not easily identified. It’s more of a cattle car than a serious method of transportation. It’s far from pleasant and you’re relieved just to get to your destination in one piece on the same day.

At the airport, we stopped for breakfast at a well-known fast-food restaurant. In the old days, you could talk to a cashier who would take your order in a minute or two. Usually, there are five cashiers to handle the early morning rush at the airport. This day, the cashiers had been replaced by three kiosks to take your order.  It seems that demands for higher minimum hourly wages has eliminated the cashiers. The usual one or two minutes/customer wait was now five to ten minutes as people struggled with the digital technology. The resulting line seemed to go on forever.

In New England we encountered new challenges to our ability to use modern technology. I tried to park our rental car in a large, open parking lot before we embarked on a Windjammer harbor cruise. We arrived with plenty of time, but little did I anticipate the trouble I was about to encounter with the simple task of paying for parking. No attendant was available to pay the parking fee (minimum wage laws again?) and no meter would allow us to put in change. A kiosk required we scan the QR Code (you’d better know what that is!) so we could pre-pay for the parking. When that didn’t work, I tried using a credit card but 30 minutes later and despite help from the ship’s receptionist, I still couldn’t make it work. I was reassured the car wouldn’t be towed before I got back from my cruise!

Parking became an issue again later in our trip in Portsmouth, N. H. We hoped to enjoy a casual lunch with a view of the harbor. There were zero free parking spaces provided and the same kiosk payment was required. Fortunately, this time the technology worked, but the rates started at $28 for two-hours minimum. We lost our interest in lunch quickly!

We finally settled on a fast-food burger chain out of the downtown but once again encountered zero cashiers willing to take our order. Fortunately, we had already gained valuable experience with the kiosk system earlier so we managed to order in record time of eight minutes! The food was eventually delivered but the dining experience wasn’t memorable.

Our next challenge was on the toll road where the traffic was so heavy and the signage so poor that I drove through the “E-Pass” booth without the transponder because I couldn’t get into the cash lane fast enough. I tried to go back and pay the attendant at the toll booth but he wouldn’t take my money. He gave me a slip with a website address where I could pay the toll online in the next 7 days to avoid a penalty. Once again, I was forced to depend on the use of online technology to pay a $0.75 cent toll. Cash wasn’t good enough.

My advice to folks my age is be sure you travel with a smart phone and a credit card (cash is worthless) and take classes in scanning QR Codes! Either that or take along your grandchildren to handle the technology you don’t understand. It’s a different world out there!