Jane was a retired nurse; immobile and slightly demented but most of her cognitive faculties were more-or-less intact. She forgot names, for example, but could recollect stories from long ago. We used to talk about "how things were back then," social and technological changes, and such.
I remember one time I brought in the first compact disc that I'd ever bought. My, that was back in the day! Early 1980's. No cellphones, no laptop computers, no IPods.
I bought one of the second-generation players for about $200 back then. I replaced it two decades later when it was damaged in a move.
I brought the shiny little disc to work and showed it to Jane. "This is what music is recorded on now, Jane. It isn't played by a needle in a groove, like on records. It's read by a tiny laser," I explained.
She held it in her rheumatoid fingers and noted the rainbow reflection, as well as her own. Then she handed it back to me, smiled a little, and skeptically said "Go to hell!"
