Creative Aging: High Tech, Low Control

"Technology makes it possible for people to gain control over everything, except over technology." —John Tudor, Baseball Player

Photo by Farzad on Unsplash

It’s time for our annual trip to Phoenix to escape the Iowa winter. We have successfully navigated the Vacation-Rentals-by-Owner (VRBO) website and reserved a house in the area and price range we wanted.

Our GPS directs us to 6th Place, but there is no house number that matches the one in our email. We call our housemates, Lee and Marlene, who say they navigated the same issue the previous day and discovered our rental two blocks away. It was on 6th Street, not 6th Place, as listed in the information we received.

We arrive, successfully punch the numbers on the screen of the keyless entry lock, and carry in our suitcases.

It’s almost time for the Des Moines Christian School’s sub-state basketball game, so hooking up our computer to Wi-Fi is a top priority. We search the house for a manual like the ones that have contained this information for our Phoenix rentals for the past ten years. We open every kitchen drawer and cupboard. No manual. We check the living room, den, bedrooms. No manual. We check the kitchen again. Still no success. We call our host. It’s all on the app, he says.

We download the VRBO app and search for Wi-Fi information. The app says to contact your host for the Wi-Fi password. We contact our host again. This time he tells us the password is on the bottom of the modem.

Our companions enter the password and then the URL given them by their son-in-law who is a Des Moines Christian High coach. We settle in to watch the game.

It’s a bit chilly in the house. The old thermostat has tape over it. Next to it is a new circular, electronic thermostat, set at 52 degrees. My husband Marlo taps every option on the screen, but cannot find a way to raise the temperature. He Googles the thermostat model and discovers that you can raise the temperature by rubbing the circumference of the thermostat in a counterclockwise direction and then tapping it. We set the thermostat on 68 degrees.

During the night our bedroom gets chilly, and we add an extra blanket. The next morning we discover that the thermostat has reverted to 52 degrees. It reverts to 52 degrees every hour throughout the day. Eventually, Marlo figures out how to set a temperature that will hold for 12 hours instead of just one. He fails to figure out how to reset the temperature permanently.

We master the use of the computerized coffeepot, the washer, and the dryer without incident.

The next morning, we discover a low-tech problem. Birds from the tree near the driveway have pooped all over our Honda Odyssey. This problem is familiar territory: with an old-fashioned rag and a bucket of water Marlo attacks the bird doo-doo.

Meanwhile housemate Marlene begins to suspect that the VRBO app we downloaded might not be the right app. Maybe the owner sent a different app for us to use. She emails him to inquire.

“We are needing instructions about garbage pickup, running the thermostat, departure guidelines, etc. Is there another app we should be using?”

We get the answer: “Once you have booked, you will receive detailed instructions.”

Marlene replies: “We have already been here for two days.”

We receive three emails in reply:

1. An apology for misunderstanding the first email.

2. An explanation about rubbing the right side of the thermostat counterclockwise to raise the temperature, clockwise to lower the temperature, which we have already figured out. Our host provides no explanation of how to program it rather than reset it every twelve hours.

3. A note that we will receive simple exit instructions the day before our scheduled departure.

There is no information about putting out garbage totes—which has been required of us at previous rentals.

We notice that the neighbors are putting out garbage and recycling totes. We debate putting ours out as well and discover that the gate between the totes and the road is locked. We decide against taking the totes through the house to the street. Later that night we receive a message: a handyman will remove the garbage tomorrow.

At bedtime we rub and tap the thermostat to set it on 68 degrees. When we wake in the morning the house temperature is 66 degrees. We suspect the heat pump is ailing and unable to maintain temperature. We decide to live with an ailing heat pump rather than bother our host again.

We do wish we had someone to guide us through the electronic jungle.

When we packed our suitcases for this vacation, we should have included a couple of grandchildren.

Adapted from Creative Aging by Carol Van Klompenburg, published 2023, available from Amazon and for Pella-area residents at Pella Books, the Curiosity Shop, or directly from Carol. Carol has an MA in theater arts and is available for reading performances of her writing on aging, moments in her gardens, and other topics.