“Little Mac” arrived in 1990. He was a “Classic,” with a screen no bigger than today’s iPad. I named him “Jonathan A. Macintosh.” The middle initial “A” stood for Apple.

I loved Little Mac with all my heart, but alas, he had no ability to connect to the Internet, and my emails could only be retrieved at work. So after seven beautiful years, Little Mac was replaced, naturally, by “Big Mac.” Big Mac, in a bright red case, connected me to the World Wide Web at home, and my life leaped (temporarily) onto the fast track.

Another seven years passed and along came eMac. eMac, a.k.a. Ebert, was amazing, but although I joined the local BeachMUG (Macintosh User Group), I couldn’t keep up with the speed of upgrades, and I fell hopelessly behind. I clung to operating system 10.3, which meant I couldn’t download the latest Firefox, which meant I couldn’t use half the things on Facebook, Flashplayer, and most of YouTube!

It was time…

So I was led, kicking and screaming, to buy a new computer. I am typing on it now. This is my fourth Macintosh; nothing else will do. I have gotten a solid seven years out of each of the previous three Macs, and I see no reason to buy any other kind. But a new computer, even one with familiar buttons and menus and commands, still presents a major learning curve.

It’s not that I fear change, but it’s hard for me to erase the old ways to embrace the new. And believe me, there is a lot new about using a 21.5” screen and a keyboard not much bigger than my checkbook.

I left the room while the magical “firewire” transferred my life’s work from one location to another… Never mind that my dear eMac Ebert would still reside in the same room with me, at least for the time being. I was scared silly that “POOF!” I’d lose everything I’d ever written, and every picture I’d taken in the past four years.

Ok, so I maybe I fear change.

But now that I have a portable hard drive backing up everything I work on every day, life is much easier. And every day I’m discovering new bells and whistles to explore, and I’ve been writing up a storm. Not once have I returned to the comfortable security of my dear old Ebert during this process.

My new iMac, Ivan the Wonderful, complete with his shiny, flat, wireless keyboard, is quickly becoming my new best friend.

Transfer complete!