A IS FOR...

 ALARMS AND ALERTS!

(Beep, beep!)

   Have you ever noticed how much our lives are being regulated these days by alarms and alerts.? We wake up to the incessant demands of the alarm clock. Well, that’s one out of the way for the day.  Then there is the welcome beep of the coffee maker. In our house if you have the toaster on too dark, or if you are cooking something in the oven at a high temperature, like frozen French fries, then the smoke alarm goes off – scaring the cat half to death.  So we have to remember to open the patio door a few inches to alleviate the smell of ‘burning’ before burning the toast. 

The microwave beeps when it is through; the oven also beeps when it reaches the required temperature. Of course the kitchen timer buzzes loudly when I set it to remind me to turn off the sprinklers after watering the thirsty back yard.  If my husband decides to take a ‘power nap’ in the afternoon his little pocket timer alarm beeps mercilessly to tell him when his time is up.  In addition I have another small alarm which beeps insistently for a full minute to remind me to take my six o’clock medication. The computer comes alive with the familiar chimes of Windows powering up.  New e mail reminders pop up with a ding—or heaven forbid you try to do something Windows doesn’t want you to do there comes the long series of beeps. 

Telephones are just as bad, who hasn’t heard the words at least once a day, “Leave your message after the sound of the beep…” My husband’s iPhone chimes when there is an important news alert.  Of course it’s important that you know there’s been another shooting in San Diego!

But it doesn’t stop there.  You get in the car and it beeps if you didn’t buckle up, or if you leave your keys in the ignition -- or if you leave the headlights on after you get out. When you leave the car to do the shopping you press the beeper in order to lock it. Our car makes such a loud beep that it makes the little old lady passing by jump out of her skin and I have to apologize.

But we’re not through yet.  If by any chance you inadvertently take some merchandise out of the store without paying for it, or the sales clerk has forgotten to remove the magnetic tag, another loud chime will alert you and a voice is heard reminding you to take the merchandise back to the register, while all heads turn and look at you, the red-faced pilferer.

When you get home, you sheep-facedly have to ring the doorbell to alert your spouse to the fact that although you have the car keys, you forgot to take the house keys. (Well thank goodness for door bells). But take care, if you step out of the car into the street because the automatic ‘backing up’ beeps on the trash truck are sounding. And don't you love it when the neighbor's car alarm goes off by mistake in the middle of the night?

After all that, we now get messages two days before, reminding us of our doctor or dentist appointment and our pharmacy has added to its automatic service the benefit of automatically refilling a prescription you use regularly, without you ordering it, and then phoning you to remind you that it is ready to pick up.

Whatever would we do without all these reminders?  I wonder if they will change the way our memory works since we don’t have to remember all this for ourselves.

Would you believe it?  That ever present reminder that someone wants to talk to you, the telephone, just rang and my sister from Canada was on the other end. (True!) So we had a good natter for about an hour just to keep in touch. No ‘time’s up’ beep on this phone call.  Those beeps went the way of the coin change phone booths. 

*****

Today we begin our eleventh round in the AUSPICIOUS project begun by Mrs. Nesbitt, ABC WEDNESDAY.  This is my entry for the letter A.  Won't you join us?  To see what others are doing for the letter A please click on the link HERE