Connections

When my son Freeboarder told me I was a ‘computer beast,’ I felt like Tom Hanks’ character in Cast Away when he yells on the beach, “I have made fire.”

Freeboarder was psyched because after struggling with loading Windows on his iMac, we finally achieved internet connection on the Windows side of his hard drive. The saga involved four trips to the computer store, stops at Subway for supplies in the way of food, three lengthy conversation with ATT, and a snowfall.

In Atlanta snow is a big deal. We were in the thick of computer hell when I looked up from the monitor and said, “hey, it’s snowing!”

“I know. It has been for almost twenty minutes,” he said, deadpan.

We were both exhausted from talking to technicians and installing software, and the snow stayed in the periphery. We read in one of his manuals a step he had left out, so finally the problem was solved. Today he can play Warhammer on his iMac, and he’s happy.

Last night my husband and I watched Changeling, directed by Clint Eastwood and starring Angelina Jolie. It’s about a mother who is treated with terrible cruelty by the police after she reports the disappearance of her nine-year-old son. John Malkovich plays the part of a Presbyterian minister who befriends the mother and helps her in her dealings with the police. The movie, set in the late twenties, shows what little power women had then. Jolie deserves her Oscar nomination for the role – she played the part of the mother very convincingly. Of course it doesn’t hurt that she looks like Helen of Troy.

After the movie I went downstairs to say goodnight to Freeboarder, and gave him three big hugs and a kiss on the cheek. After watching a mother’s agony over losing her child, I felt particularly grateful to see my own son with his eyes glued to the computer screen. And he suffered the hugs with magnanimity, sweet kid.

Published by Christine

Christine Swint’s poems have appeared in Calyx, Birmingham Poetry Review, Slant, a Journal of Poetry, Tampa Review, Heron Tree, Ekphrasis, and others. Her poems have been nominated for the Pushcart Prize, Best of the Net, and Best New Poets, and she has won first place prizes from the Georgia Poetry Society and Agnes Scott College. Her first collection, Swimming This, was published in 2015 by FutureCycle Press. She teaches first-year composition at a metro-Atlanta university and writes about poetry, art, hiking, and yoga at Balanced on the Edge, https://balancedonedge.blog Twitter @christine_swint

12 thoughts on “Connections”

  2. jo says:
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    LOL, please don’t tell me they ever start to object to hugs. I suffocate my two on a daily basis….this was a lovely glimpse into your world. I won’t be watching that film though. The trailer for it turned me into a basket case, never mind the film. Boys are the best 🙂

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  4. carolee says:
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    i’ve debated about watching the movie, as well. that whole panicky feeling of knowing you’re right but nobody listening comes across so well in the previews.

    i can imagine that finding everyone right where they belong afterwards would be quite a relief!

    i like this glimpse at this tender moment b/w a mother and a teenage son. hope i have many to look forward to.

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  5. Noah says:
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    I don’t understand the point of Windows on a mac, but I guess I do have it. Oh well. I only ever use it when I have to. (That being beta testing mmos for bragging rights. :P)

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  8. holly d says:
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    sounds like you’ve got a great son…
    as far as the snow, we had about 6 inches, and I had a day “off” in which I graded more papers…:)
    hope you are well…i go on spring break next week to Denver to see my brother…we need to get together again soon!!!

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  9. christine says:
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    Col, I know what you mean about AJ, she does stand around a lot looking stunning. But she was believable in this movie. Or else the whole mom thing got to me.

    Holly, six inches of snow! It always seems like Athens gets more than Atlanta.

    Carolee, it might make you too upset. It’s hard to watch.

    Jo, just keep huggin’ on ’em. Raise ’em up right.

    Michelle, I wish I could have you over for some wine, good food, and music. Well, you’re all invited!

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  10. ybonesy says:
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    Your personal posts are so rich, Christine. I don’t know if you realize how much fun they are to read.

    I am a fellow computer beast, and both my daughters are computer beastettes. My husband, the farmer of the bunch, just doesn’t understand how we can enjoy tinkering with the machine as much as we do. But I’m glad we can, with the help of a tech or two, figure this stuff out.

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