Old Cool Technology

My mind was wandering yesterday and it meandered into the land of obsolete and forgotten technology. I was typing at the time, at a computer keyboard, of course. I tried to remember the last time I used a typewriter. I'm sure I didn't realize it would be my last time. I used a typewriter so infrequently and I knew that computers were beginning to take its business, so I should have probably realized it. The typewriter disappeared from my life. Like an older distant relative who I rarely visited, I'm not surprised that it's gone but I wish I could remember our last encounter.

I remember sitting on the bleachers in my school gymnasium. I was probably ten or eleven years old. It's a weird memory. I can't recall what the event was, probably a basketball game but it could just as easily have been a band concert. I can't remember who I was sitting with, maybe friends, maybe family. So much of the memory is vague or lost but one piece stands out crystal clear. A couple of rows in front of me there were some high school guys. I thought these guys were very cool. Thinking back, there was one guy who was truly cool and a bunch of his friends who were hoping to be cool by association. The friends were there first but I didn't notice them until Mr. Cool showed up. His arrival caused enough of a commotion to draw attention. His friends shifted and shuffled, making room for him in the center of their group. I watched in awe as he held court. I still remember the gist of their conversation:

Friend: "Hey man, you're late."

Mr. Cool: "Yeah, I know. I was busy with my car."

Friend: "Oh man, did you do it? Did you get a tape deck?"

Mr. Cool: "Yep."

Friends nod approvingly, his coolness once again confirmed.

Friend: "So, what kind did you get? Cassette or 8-track?"

Mr. Cool (with a look that said "How could ask such a dumb question?"): "8-track, of course"

That was the moment I knew that to be truly cool I would someday need to own an 8-track tape player. And now I can't even remember the last time I used one.