We have had Nadia's dad Lindsay up quite a lot lately. He seems to have taken a shine to our house and especially the fact, I suppose, that it's clean, modern and comfortable. There's also a kitchen dispensing veggie meals to his spot at the kitchen table, from which place he rarely removes himself.
My wife's father is an artist and musician and something of an old hippie. He has a fixation with new gadgets and counts amongst his current haul an imac,an mp3 player, two MD players, an AM/FM/SW radio, a voice recorder, a couple of cameras and assorted other devices. He had just acquired some portable solar panels and a tiny DC current fridge. He has lost or given away at least six mobile phones, a couple of video cameras, an ipod, these being the things that I actually know about. Retired gadgets would fill a large hall closet.
With this technophilia comes a distinct downside, for Lindsay is often unable to use his gadgets, or make them work together. Some devices are incompatible, or lack a small though crucial connection cable. Other have software issues or do things that he doesn't want them to do. Conversely, he believes that if he thinks that a device functions in a particular way, then it should do so, regardless of whether in fact it does. Now he is thinking about tablets and complicated mobile phones and I foresee a world of trouble for him and a huge waste of money.
Having Lindsay over also creates problems for my wife and mother-in-law, who don't really want him around. At all. I'm afraid that runs up against my desire to be hospitable and gets me into difficulty. As for that, I don't think it's my job to relay the displeasure of others (who should speak up for themselves) or curb what for me is a natural instinct.
Peace to all beings, as Lindsay might say.
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