I don’t know anybody quite like Ben Osterhaudt, and that’s too bad, because the world would be a better place if there were more Bens. Ben came over to help us prepare the house for moving, and he climbed up to the top of the Carriage Barn and pulled down the big Christmas Wreath, which has been hanging up there for two years. Ben doesn’t often need a ladder, as he is a monster and can reach things most people can’t quite see. I caught him hauling his ladder and puffing on his ever-present cigarette. I was surprised he wore a hat.  We leave a list of things to do on the kitchen counter and Ben comes in, stares down Frieda, and simply goes down the list. He’s fixing a dryer vent now. We are ready to move, as soon as our buyer appears. Soon.

Ben and I had our first real technology talk this morning.I’ve tried a hundred times, but hit a wall usually. When Ben doesn’t want to do something, he just laughs and walks away.  Ben reluctantly just got a cell phone. He doesn’t go online, have a computer, a website, or e-mail. His favorite recreation is being alone in the woods.  I’ve been plotting to get him an Ipad for some time now, but every time I ask him, he just shrugs. What for, he always asks?

Today, I tried again, showing him my monitor, Apple writing display, Aperture photo program,  and how my Ipad can take photos, be a calendar and could help him order parts and check prices for his restoration work. Hmmm, he said, this is kind of cool. Maybe I should think about it. Maybe it’s time for me to take some photos of my work and do a catalogue or something. Maybe so.  A big ray of light. Since Ben never goes online, I can write about this here.The new Ipad3 is coming out, and that means Ipad2’s and others will be available cheaply. Ipads without wireless connections – Wi-Fi would be fine for him – are not that expensive. I was not planning to get an Ipad3, as I love my Ipad2, but I now hear that Siri the personal assistant will be in the Ipad3, and when Maria heard that, she said, oh-oh, you are getting an Ipad3. No, no. She thinks I am in love with Siri. This is not so. She is just a chip in an Ipad.