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I TRY to be straightforward in my writing, which is why it makes me mad when others are not. A friend of mine, a fellow blogger and writer too, commented on Facebook that a friend of his was so great, “She’s Rhadamanthus.” I immediately thought, she’s whatahoosis? Naturally I Googled and found out that Rhadamanthus was some big deal in Greek mythology, the wise son of a king whose opinion mattered, or something along those lines.
The whole thing got me wondering: Just what the heck did we all do before Google? And how much dumber are we now because we have it? Why read, why learn, when you can just go and Google it?
A few days ago I got into a conversation with a sales clerk who reminded me of the actress Helen Mirren. When I told her that, she confided that she always wanted to look like Sandra Dee. I said, “Well, at least you’re still alive.” She was shocked, and said, “Oh no, when did she die?” Meanwhile my husband, who never even heard of Sandra Dee because he was a mere tot when I was a teen and Sandra ruled at the box office, got his Google on and within seconds delivered the gory details of her death, her disease, her broken marriage, her bitter end, and every movie she ever made. End of conversation.
Mitch is the fastest draw around these parts when it comes to his iPhone. On the one hand, he’s good to have around during the Sunday Times crossword puzzle. On the other, he’s always right.
Anyway, I’d rather be called Acca Larentia instead of Rhadamanthus any day. At least she was a girl.
—Andrea Rouda
Andrea Rouda blogs at The Daily Droid.