So Much For The Notion Of Offline
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Hill Country Living
By Coulter Fussell
In last week’s column I self-righteously preached about how everyone could stand spending more time offline. Well, some of you might be pleased to know that I received instant karma as soon as I finished writing that column. The very moment I pressed “send” to shoot my column over the Herald office, my internet went out and has yet to entirely restore itself. I wouldn’t say it’s thus been the worst week of my life, but it has been supremely disappointing.
So, I take it all back. I don’t like life without the internet. Last week, I was truly on the verge of having to handwrite my column on a piece of paper with a pen (after I went and bought a pen from the store), count the column’s words using my own brain cells that would have to magically collaborate somehow for tallying purposes and then put on shoes so as to walk the piece of paper one block from my home to the Herald office. I can barely imagine it.
Fortunately, I just drove the single block downtown and used someone else’s internet.
Ironically, I read online about the reason the internet was out. The Highway 7 construction supposedly messed up a fiber cable. I’d rather have internet than roads at this point. For someone who grew up pre-internet and now spends a whole lot of time unnecessarily thinking about the 1890s, I surely can’t handle an iota of the world’s former realities.
So, in honor of the ones who did buy the pen and handwrite the letter, it’s a Wagner Week! This letter takes place during our current late-August week except a mere 132 years ago — long before automatic spell check. It is written by 12-year-old Eugene Wagner. He’s writing to his mama who is visiting relatives, surely in a cooler location.
Water Valley Mississippi
August 26, 1894
Dear Mother,
As I promised to write to you while you are up to Aunt Mary’s I thought would write some time while Papa is wrighting. He told me he was going to write this evening and I told him I would write to everybody too.
Everybody is gone except Miss Maddie and Dudley and me and Jesse and Corinne are at the Christian Endevor and Calista and Papa are gone to Will Wagners and George is somewhere and Aunt Ella is at the Christian Science class. I take her to the class every Sunday. We have had so much rain. I believe it has rained every day this week. I go to Sunday school and preaching every Sunday. This morning MJD Leslie our former pastor preached on Gal. VI and a verse “Bear ye one anothers burdens and so fulfill the law of Christ.” As Corinne and Jesse have just come and the buggy is waiting for us to get after Aunt Ella I bid you goodbye.
Lovingly, Eugene
