Your audio-and-text option:
Listen to James and June’s story as you read it (below).
"One of the holes in our budget is our air conditioner," James declared, pointing a remote control at the digital display on the wall.
The number, a bold 72, glowed with an almost defiant confidence. "I'm telling you, June, this is the most efficient way,” James insisted. “Set it and forget it. A consistent temperature."
June, armed with a wool blanket, shivered on the couch as they watched the news on TV before going to bed. "It's cold in here at night, James! We're practically living in a meat locker. And I saw the last energy bill. It's not worth it."
For the past three months, their home had become a silent battlefield of competing energy philosophies. With rising costs, their once-unseen thermostat had become the centerpiece of a low-stakes competition.
James, a believer in technology, had installed the new smart thermostat. He insisted that the automatic settings, which kept the house at a steady 72 degrees, were the key to savings. June believed in routine. Every night, she'd creep to the wall and turn the temperature up to a warmer 75. Every morning, she'd turn it back up to a cooler 72 to take advantage of the day’s warmth.
"The numbers don’t lie," James said, insisting, with a smug look on his face, that “set it and leave it” was working . He’d check the app on his phone every morning, tracking the usage. "We used three percent less energy so far this month."
"That's because I'm freezing at night," June shot back. "That's my work you're taking credit for."
Their kids, who had long since moved out, found their parents’ competition endlessly amusing. "They're like two little squirrels fighting over a nut," their daughter, Annie, had said on a phone call to her brother, Dick.
But Dick was impressed by his dad’s fascination with smart technology.
One particularly cold Tuesday, James was at the chiropractor. June felt the chill and went to the thermostat. She changed the setting to 75. She sat in her favorite recliner, reading and feeling the house warm up a bit.
When James came home, he didn't say a word about the temperature. He simply walked to the thermostat and, with a quiet click, set it back to 72. Then he opened the app on his phone and showed it to June.
"Did you know this thing sends me an alert every time you change the temperature?" he asked, a twinkle in his eye. "I get a little notification: 'June has tampered with the thermostat.'"
June felt a wave of both frustration and admiration. She had been bested by a tiny, digital spy – but, at least, she was comfortable reading without her blanket.
They spent the rest of the evening in compromising silence, both of them staring at the TV. As the night wore on, June felt a chill. She grabbed her wool blanket and pulled it up to her chin. She glanced at the thermostat. It still read 72.
Later that evening, after a shower, James came out of the bathroom with his towel over his shoulder. June, still curled up under her blanket, watched him walk over to the thermostat and, with a surprising move, set the thermostat to a 75.
June looked at him, bewildered. "What are you doing?"
He finally broke the silence. “You’re chilly at night.”
And then he added, "This isn't a game. It's our house. And it should be comfortable for both of us. So let me see how I can program this thing for an automatic 75 at night and 72 at daytime. We’ll find a balance.”
For June and James, it was a victory that no app could ever track.
Also hear and read this “parent story” from 2024:
Go to “Stella’s Struggle with Self-sufficiency”
Age: Our greatest asset!
Jim Hasse, ABC, GCDF retired, author of “52 Shades of Graying”
Weekly Stories About Aging Well
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In 1968, “Amigo” became the first company in America to introduce what is now called a “mobility scooter” for individuals who find walking a challenge.
As a student with cerebral palsy, I had no idea such a contraption was on the horizon while I was in college 1961 to 1965. Walking with crutches back then, I could have used a mobility scooter. It would have made navigating between classes and intermingling at social events much easier.
But one other reminder. There were no “curb cuts” back then.
I didn’t get my first mobility scooter until after Pam and I were married in 1984. And I have worn out four scooters since then – putting on many miles in New York City, Chicago, Los Angeles, Seattle, Boston, Houston, Minneapolis and Madison, WI.
* What bit of new technology has given you the opportunity to lead a more comfortable life?