Change: a scary six-letter word

I find myself thinking back quite often on the way things used to be.

No doubt this is partially a function of age.

I am Social Security eligible but not yet Medicare eligible and with that information, the reader can discern this writer's age is somewhere between 62 and 65.

While shopping in my favorite supermarket the other day, the young checker swiped my items past a scanner. Since I paid in cash, the large touchscreen showed her exactly how to make change from the drawer.

As a Luddite, technology frequently fascinates and confuses me.

None of this 21st-century tech was available, of course, when I did similar work in my hometown grocery store in the early-to-mid 1970s.

At the risk of sounding like Dana Carvey's "Grumpy Old Man" Saturday Night Live character, things were different in my day.

We used a clunky metal contraption to stamp prices on cans that were frequently hard to read at checkout because the ink would often be smeared.

The ink didn't react well to my skin and my hands would occasionally develop a rash. Not fun.

Frequently, we had to do time-consuming price checks -- going through the week's paper circular to find the cost of an item or in the worst case, having to walk back an aisle to eyeball a product directly on the shelf.

Will Rogers, who died in a plane crash in 1935, used to chuckle at people who bemoaned the loss of the tried-and-true way of doing things.

In a short biography of his life, the legendary humorist was quoted as saying, "Things weren't always better in the old days. We just remember them that way."

Change can turn out to be wonderful, even as I tend to resist it.

When Southeast Missouri State University abandoned the online Moodle learning management system for the current Canvas LMS last year, this adjunct faculty member was unhappy, frankly.

Sure, Moodle was a clunky system and hard to navigate, but it was free to the institution.

More to the point, I'd worked with Moodle long enough that I'd pretty much mastered its many nuances.

When SEMO's administration bit the bullet and switched to Canvas, which the university pays for, I groaned inwardly.

It's nice to be wrong now and again. There is a sea change of difference between the two LMS programs. Canvas is far superior.

Scripture

Holding the Judeo-Christian Bible as the written revelation of God to human beings, I personally give the Scriptures great weight.

There is no irrevocable position on change, however, in the Old and New Testaments.

Certainly, we may read verses that seem resolute.

"Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today and forever." (Hebrews 13:8)

"I am the Lord. I change not." (Malachi 3:6)

Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI tends to hold this unmoved position if the 2019 film, "The Two Popes," is to be believed.

Benedict's successor, the current Roman Pontiff Francis, would seem more amenable to a verse found in the Acts of the Apostles.

"We have heard (Stephen) say this Jesus of Nazareth will destroy this place and change the customs Moses handed down to us." (Acts 6:14)

"You have heard that it was said to the people long ago, 'You shall not murder, and anyone who murders will be subject to judgment.' But I tell you that anyone who is angry with a brother or sister will be subject to judgment," Jesus said. (Matthew 5:21-22)

Reconciliation

Change is not going away, so it is incumbent to get comfortable with it even if, at times, we push back mightily.

Maybe if we collectively start doing what the two living popes have done, which is put their relationship as men above their disagreement about change, there is hope for the future.

This writer remains cautiously optimistic we can together seek the higher things.