First

The latest craze here is running, albeit not barefoot yet. Did I start this craze? Before that it was growing a beard for which thankfully I cannot be held responsible. But what about...

I was the first in the community here to own a computer (PC-AT-286 running MSDOS with Hercules graphics) and a "high quality" printer (Epson LQ500 24-pin dot-matrix). I was the first here to write computer programs (in GWBASIC). First to run Windows (version 2). First to obtain and use an internet connection (dial-up back then). One of the first to own a mobile phone. First to buy a printed OS map of the locality. First to own a GPS navigation device (off-line). First (and only) to run barefoot, or to cycle to the coast and back. First to weed the vegetable plots barefoot (but this is now catching on). First to own a digital camera (I think) - they are now so ubiquitous that I hardly ever bother to get mine out.

With all those firsts one might think I was someone but, no, others here have caught up and overtaken me. They mostly have expensive Apple Mac's, large flat screen TV's, play graphics-intensive games that would fry my computer (and my brain), they have iPods and iPads and tablets and Kindles. Some have reflex digital cameras and most have cameras with specs that exceed mine. They own the latest smart-phones and download zillions of apps and pay for data-plans that permit on-line navigation. They (some) do crazy runs and work-outs (admittedly not barefoot). One person writes object oriented multi-threaded computer programs and others use their computers to do clever video editing or 3D computed aided designing.

Such is growing up.