an iPod for grandma?

To iPod or not. That's the question. I embrace new technology much the same way that I learned to swim. Failing beginning swimming three times shook my confidence in the water. Then in college I took lifesaving and there was no looking back. I loved swimming!

Maybe it's time to jump on the iPod bandwagon. CD's clutter my life: the desk, car, kitchen counter, drawers and shelves. And they're so ... 90's!

And allow me digress, but my favorite CD story happened when son Dan came home from preschool one day in 1990. Wide-eyed, he spread his hands a foot apart and exclaimed, "Mommy, they have CD's THIS BIG at preschool!"

So why not, I should get with the program. According to those in the know (my friends) an iPod is a must-have. Maybe a must-want. But like my fear of the pool, I start listing the negatives.

1. How do I load the thing? Dan says it will "take him 5 months" to teach me. Your point, son?
2. Earphones. I absolutely detest things in my ears. So I figure I'll buy a "dock" - yeah I'm getting the lingo - a clock radio that charges and plays your iPod. And, I can play it in the car as long as there's a pluggy hole for it.
3. Which model? Shuffle. Nano. Classic. 250, 500 or 2,000 songs? Oh, dear.
4. What if I get tired of songs, can I take them off and replace with new ones?

My kids are laughing, I am certain. IPod technology is as complicated to them as brushing their teeth. Which, had I not been teaching them to do all those years, I might be better versed in iPods!