Honor and Respect

I don't know about you, but the 15th anniversary of the September 11, 2001 attacks hit me pretty hard last week.  I didn't want to put on the TV because of the programs and news shows commemorating the anniversary.  It's not that I didn't care about what happened.  Quite the opposite.  As a New Yorker and as a human being, I remembered and relived the intense emotions of that day--fear, uncertainty, shock, sadness, grief.

This past April, I went to Ground Zero in New York City.  I stood by the two reflecting pools, and around the perimeters, I looked at the names of those who perished.  I saw flowers left behind by loved ones who visited.  I stood under the Survivor's Tree, the tree that somehow withstood the collapse of the Twin Towers, and I cried.  I simply broke down at the reality of what happened, at the many lives that ended so violently.

And at that place where such tragedy occurred, at that somber memorial, I saw a young girl of about 12 or 13 smile happily for a photo.  What she did struck me as out of place.  She was obviously too young to have lived through that fateful day, and her memories of it are all secondhand from parents, teachers, TV, and the Internet.  I didn't blame her for her youth and innocence, but I had a difficult time grasping how anyone could show such cheerfulness in a place of such sorrow.  It was similar to another young woman sometime back who took a selfie happily posing by the infamous gates of Auschwitz.

I know I'm a fuddy-duddy.  I know I strongly hold on to old-fashioned values--respect, honor, decency, humility--in a time when those values are ignored by so many.  However, those values do not and should not pertain to any particular time and place.  They are human, universal values that transcend the ages and national boundaries.  When we go to memorials and cemeteries, we should pause and reflect.  Give some thought to our predecessors.  Honor and respect them.

For the record, I did have my picture taken at Ground Zero as a personal keepsake of my visit, but I didn't smile.  My heart was full of emotion and my head full of thoughts of the roughly 3,000 people who died in that spot.  There was nothing for me to smile about.

Respectfully yours from the perch.

 

Ubuntu

Are you tired and frustrated with Microsoft Windows?  Is it clogging up your computer and making it run slow?  Are you fed up with all the updates and security patches?  Do you want to break away from the crowd and use a different operating system that's faster, more secure, and potentially better?  Well, there are different operating systems that are gaining popularity, and one that's getting more users these days is a Linux-based system called Ubuntu.

After spending close to 20 years using some version of Windows on my own desktops or laptops, I recently made the big switch to Ubuntu because 1) I wasn't pleased with Windows 10, 2) my laptop seemed to be more annoying than useful, 3) my hard drive eventually crashed, and 4) my techno-savvy husband rebuilt my laptop and installed Ubuntu on it.  Although I've gone through a brief period of adjustment to Ubuntu, it hasn't been all that difficult.

Amazingly, Ubuntu works similar to Microsoft Windows.  You have a desktop and folders into which you can save your personal files, photos, or whatever else.  If you're into taking pictures like I am, Shotwell Photo Manager allows you to crop, straighten, resize, and do other things to your photos to make them more professional looking just like Microsoft Office Picture Manager.

I pretty much do the same things with Ubuntu as I did with Windows.  You can download a Microsoft Office alternative like LibreOffice for free, but there are also free online programs through Google (i.e., Docs, Sheets, Slides) and Zoho (i.e., Writer, Sheet, Show) that compensate for Microsoft programs.  Additionally, I can use web browsers like Firefox or Google Chrome just like I did with Windows.

To get Ubuntu, you can download it for free (yes, FREE) from the Internet.  It's more secure because computer hackers are targeting Microsoft Windows, the system that about 90% of the world is using.  Compare that with Ubuntu users who make up about 2% of the world's computer market.  Nevertheless, Ubuntu is slowly catching on with private users and with public libraries, which are switching to it for the greater security and privacy it offers patrons, not to mention the price.

So, if you're looking to try a different operating system, consider Ubuntu.  You may be pleasantly surprised by it.

Ever helpfully yours from the perch.