Just Because It's There?

I am not a technophobe, despite how it may sometimes appear to others; I don't fear new technology. I'm just selective in which technology I consider as truly useful to me. There have been occasions when I was the first in line to purchase a new "wonder" because I could see its benefits as being immediate. A food processor is one such item. I waited to buy it only until more than one company started producing them, resulting in a price war that was to my benefit, and I bought multiples--milchig, fleishig and pesachdik. Given my preferred method of cooking, and given that I also work outside of my home, those processors have saved me numerous hours of drudgery. I see the value in a bagless vacuum cleaner--emptying a canister is for me a good trade off to having to buy bags, as well as using up less trees for paper. And as for computers, well there are just too many benefits to me to even begin discussing them.



I am also not against the idea of new or "new and improved." I have been using the same exact brand of detergent for almost 37 years of marriage. It works, no one in my family has gotten an allergic reaction to it, so why bother trying all the others? However, I did choose to buy an upgraded version that became available as a choice: the "free and clear" version without perfumes or dyes in it. That was what I considered a "real" improvement.

I appreciate a good sale as well as anybody else, perhaps even more so since I must be genetically programmed to avoid paying full retail for anything. But the key for me is do I want/need that item? Is it something that will really make me happy? Will it make life easier for me in some tangible way? Does its beauty clutch at my heartstrings? And I also ask myself if the item on sale is only a fleeting infatuation or is it true love.

The following conversation has been held between myself and others so many times in my life that if I had only a penny for each of these conversations I could single-handedly solve the yeshiva tuition crisis.

Other: "Wow, ________s is having the most incredible sale!"

Me: "What's on sale?"

Other: "Would you believe that they are selling genuine, original Widgets for 40% off! Only $88.00!"

Me: "I don't want/need/like/prefer/lust for Widgets. I'll skip the sale."

Other: "But it's a Widget! How can you not want/need/like/prefer/lust for a Widget! Widgets are all the rage right now! If you don't buy one on the sale you are going to pay way more when you go to buy one."

Me: "I don't think I'm ever going to buy one, but thanks for letting me know."

Other: Walks away shaking head at my obvious obtuseness as to the importance of owning a Widget.

My dad was in the retail fur business. When we lived in Oregon he had concessions in women's apparel stores in Oregon, Washington and Idaho. Until I was in college, when we moved to New York, I didn't buy my own clothes. My dad was able to purchase clothing for us at store cost from the stores where his concessions were. My dad had really good taste and color sense and I can't remember his ever bringing me home something that I didn't like. I really never gave it much thought as to who made those clothes, but there were some other people who noticed and were "impressed." I wore Pendleton and White Stag and Jonathan Logan because that's what my dad had available to him, and the prices fit his budget. But he never asked for a specific designer and none of us in the family were label crazy either. I still am not. "Toyota" on a car label may tell me that the car is well made and will probably be very reliable and good on gas usage. "Lexus" on the label tells me that impressing others is the first consideration. "Yves St. Laurent" on the label tells me walk the other way--high prices on board. "Sears" on the label says I'm going to pay less, and probably for the same fabric, considering both labels are probably importing from the same factory in China or Bangladesh.

I don't change my wardrobe every season or even every year. I've got the attitude that being in style does nothing but line the pockets of clothing manufacturers. I tend to "fall in love" with any pieces I buy, and we will stay "married" for a long, long time.



I don't redecorate my home every few years either. A while back the "rage" in decorating was a combination of greys and burgundy. Everywhere you went you saw the style addicts had their homes decked out in these colors. Around the same time all-white kitchens were the rage. A few years later the style changed. Those addicts were quickly planning how they could change their homes yet again.

And then there are those who buy every new technological wonder almost before they get taken out of the box and put on the store shelves. Their rationale? They are new so they must be better. I sometimes really wonder at the shopping habits of others. They chase after everything that is new, seemingly sometimes just because it is there. They need that product they will tell you. A pretty short-lived need, since most of those new things are discarded fairly quickly, since interest in them wanes fast.

Do we really not realize how much we are being manipulated by manufacturers, stores and all those interested in parting us from our money? I refuse to believe that there is a genetic something inside of us that compels us to buy, buy, buy. I firmly believe that we could help ourselves if we wanted to. Ah, but that's the rub--we have to want to.