The other day my wife issued an executive order in the house: "Be a Kid Day."
Electronics were off limits for the kids, who grumbled some about the gadget-free day.
Oh the horror! They had to play with actual toys -- those little things overflowing from the rectangular boxes in their rooms.
No laptop. No YouTube. No playing games on my cell phone.
Somehow they managed to survive, although eager most of the day for the ban to be lifted.
When I was a kid, my summers were spent outdoors. Usually, I could be found navigating my bike on a hilly neighborhood street in Jackson, Tenn.
It was nothing to go a mile and a half to the store to grab a cold drink and a candy bar with some change I had scrounged up somehow.
Then there was a little wooded area at the end of the street that we turned into a "dirt bike track." My friends and I would circle the homemade course for hours. Other times were spent playing some sport in the yard -- wiffle ball, basketball or football, mostly -- or looking through baseball cards to trade with one another.
We didn't have the gadgets available today -- just our creativity in finding ways to play.
But somehow we found ways to entertain ourselves and create lasting childhood memories.
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I'm not sure if the kids realize how fortunate they are to have the current technology.
They've never known a world without a computer in nearly every home.
If they want a song, all they have to do is download it. I can remember sitting by the radio, waiting for a favorite song to come on and recording it on a blank cassette tape. If a friend had a tape I was interested in, I might manually record a few of those songs as well.
Granted, the quality wasn't very good, particularly if compared to today's reproductions.
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It's pretty amazing the way we use cell phones these days.
My first exposure to a mobile phone was the one carried by "Zack Morris" on the late 1980s/early 1990s show "Saved by the Bell."
That phone, and the bag phones that followed, can't compare to today's smart phones.
Now a phone is used as a personalized phone book; a calculator; a flashlight; an alarm clock; to message someone; to keep electronic sticky notes; to check Facebook; to post on social media sites; to check the weather; to check scores; to route Point A to Point B; to find where a loved one's phone is located; to play games the way we used to do on the old Game Boys (remember those?); to take photos and videos; to download and listen to music; to check the calendar and receive event alerts; to make changes to your fantasy football team; to play someone in chess; to read the Bible; to get news alerts and read stories as soon as they are posted; to check spelling; to pay bills and make electronic transfers; to watch television shows.
And, if so inclined, you can make a phone call.
It's no wonder gadgets are so addictive.
mbrasfield@blythevillecourier.com