Today we lunched with Bruce and Graham – and their handsome dog Tanner – at their warm and welcoming residence in the Town of Smiths Falls, Lanark County along the Rideau Canal. The exceedingly flavourful meal – prepared as always with recognizable skill – was the perfect crescendo to our already vibrant confab. Our social history, serendipitous acquaintance and ancestral commonality contributed no doubt unwittingly to the fluency of the conversation. It was only our abhorrence of driving in the dark which accelerated our otherwise sparing departure from the drawing room and after-luncheon coffee.
It is named after Thomas Smyth, a United Empire Loyalist who in 1786 was granted 1.6 square kilometres (400 acres) in what is present-day Smiths Falls. The Heritage House Museum (c. 1862), also known as the Ward House, was designated under the Ontario Heritage Act in 1977.
Initially this morning our luncheon venture was obstructed from its fervour by a competing notification from FedEx regarding the expected arrival of my new iPhone 17. As luck would have it, the delivery was scheduled precisely the time we were due to arrive in Smiths Falls. At last we thankfully adhered to the proper etiquette and caved to the conviction that the delivery driver would simply re-schedule the delivery (for which a signature was required) to early next week. To my surprise – and to my unanticipated delight – immediately upon arrival in Smiths Falls at the front door of our hosts, I received a telephone call from the FedEx driver in which he advised he had taken the initiative to ring our immediate neighbour who generously agreed to “sign for receipt”. The package was accordingly dropped off (and I collected it upon our return home).
In the result it was more than the homemade Dutch apple pie and astonishingly rich and flaky pastry which crowned our day. I concluded our social gathering and outing by stationing the “loaner” Buick I’ve been given (while the Optiq is under investigation) in the subterranean garage mere minutes following the complete descent of the sun below the crimson horizon. Afterwards, comfortably seated at my desk overlooking the field and river, I devoted the ensuing several hours to the transition of my old iPhone 15 to my new iPhone 17 including the novelty of transition of the Bell SIM card (subscriber identification module) to the new eSIM (for which there is no tactile evidence). I was reminded once again of the marvel of current technology.
My overall impression of the new device is entirely commendatory. The most noticeable features to my unprofessional eye are the thinness of the device and the pleasing sensation of the clear case. Two such critical elements of the five senses have an unquestionable appeal. Equally significant to me is that today’s experiment with on-line purchase and at-home updating represents an entirely new adventure. The brilliance of the undertaking is augmented by the fact that I was unable to locate the exact device I wanted at the nearest retailer. I am convinced it is no accident that Apple has enforced the transition from in-person contact to on-line and remote alternatives. Apple has met with success in this evolving modern vernacular. Though I stumbled in the process, the repeat applications were seamless.
Nor is it a complete coincidence that the change in the way of doing business was reflected in the conversation we had with our friends today at table. Graham is about to begin an on-line education program driven in common with a local college and a nearby university. This model would naturally have been unheard of when I was educated over half a century ago – though I was quick to add that, in my opinion, the value of in-person classroom attendance (compared with on-line Zoom conference) is highly controversial. The added benefit of entitlement to dip into a mid-winter holiday without having to contaminate one’s educational pursuits is an unparalleled privilege. Graham embellished the changing dynamic by commenting that his most recent engagement in technology – as tiresome as its mathematical persuasion may be – is evidence that technology insinuates every detail of human endeavour from iPhones to a Bachelor of Commerce. Speaking for myself – and admittedly from a far more distant and uninvolved perspective – I have again gratified myself to remain au courant at least in this modest manner. I have unwittingly prepared myself for a casual Sunday all day tomorrow as we approach a severe and foreboding weather forecast (snowfall warning) from which my anticipated subterranean tricycle will be free from peril.
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