The other day, I went into the drugstore to drop off a prescription. The wait was not long, as there were only two people in front of me. It took just a couple of minutes for them to be helped. I thought that it was too good to be true.

It was. The instant I got up to the counter, the man said he’d be right with me. It was a lie. Three more times while I waited close to ten minutes, he repeated the platitude. One time he repeated it after I waved the paper and said that all I wanted to do was drop it off.

I don’t know about the rest of you, but it seems to me that computers seem to be slowing things down, and not just a little. It ought not to be like that.

I used to make my living repairing computers. When they first started making their way into stores, I welcomed it. It seemed a way to allow the clerks to spend more time helping customers.

Anyone who has been around for a few decades will tell you that it is not at all the way it used to be. At 78, I now check out, bag, and take my own groceries to my car. Granted, it likely does decrease what I pay a little, but what the computer has done is decrease the service. I can’t even get any of the old-fashioned treatment, even if I am willing to pay.

It seems to me that when people see someone approaching who appears to be near eighty, they might go out of their way to help, even if just a little. It might be better than walking away the instant they see the person approaching. They might even offer to take the person’s groceries to their car for a small fee.

If current trends continue, we may find ourselves in a situation where we have to grind our own wheat and prepare our own meat, rather than relying on convenient, pre-processed options.

So much for the personal touch.