Dr. Bill to rescue my Internet connection

Hi neighbors. Recently (three days ago) my Internet declared itself unavailable. Really? Does this mean we are breaking up? I can't live without my Internet! OK, I could survive without it; but I don't think I want to.

As with all catastrophes that involve computers, I called my son. Like he always does, he asked what the computer had to say about it.

"You always take the computer's side," I whined. "It said it had a cable unplugged."

"Gee, Mom, you ought to be able to fix that yourself. Have you tried?"

"Yes! I looked at every connection from the wall, to and from the DXL box, to the computer. They are all in place. Apparently being attached is not the same as being connected." I waited for his words of wisdom. He has always been able to fix everything computer related.

"I'll come over and look at it tomorrow. You'll just have to survive a day without the Internet." He giggled. Giggled!

Well, I became determined to survive. I read a book, I watched TV, I played video games, and I called people I hadn't talked to for decades. An hour passed.

Thank goodness I had my favorite shows coming on that night and I made it though by playing Mahjongg and working on the family tree program.

The next day I called early to remind him he was to come over and fix my computer. He said he would come over and give a diagnosis; but he couldn't swear he could complete a cure. (I always wanted him to be a doctor.)

The exam was cursory and the results were devastating. "I'm sorry, Mom, but your DSL has died. Don't worry though, I'll use it for target practice later."

"But what will I do for Internet?"

He then slowly explained (with the same tone he uses all the time to talk computer tech to me) that I would have to decide which provider is the best (in my case cheapest) and get a new DSL or go cable.

It all seemed pretty complicated to me. But I called AT&T where I had bought my now dead DSL and inquired about getting a new one.

After talking to one lady I was switched to another. Lo and behold this next lady was in Independence and was raised in the Rich Hill area near Pappinsville. We chatted genealogy for a while and compared notes on who all we knew in common.

I determined I would stick with AT&T, getting a new DSL and free long distance calling, caller ID and all the internet I could stand (obviously they are not aware of my insatiable consumption of search engines) for about half of what I had been paying monthly.

The installer could not be there till the next day though. But, again, I survived by playing Mahjongg and working on the family tree.

The next day Josh showed up, installed the new DSL, which has much more punch than the old one, drilled holes in my front room wall, kitchen wall and cut the electric pipe on the side of the house. When he finished everything was great!

The next day I decided to check the ink levels in both of my printers. The one was no problem. The second was Wi-Fi connected. You would think a printer could tell you if it did or did not need ink on that little scroll screen, but no. I messed with it for a while then called Bill.

"My printer needs the Wi-Fi thingy introduction thingy done. They aren't speaking to each other, Dr. Bill. Come give them counseling, please!"

He came over, entered the new code, got the computer and printers all cozy again and stopped the squabbling forever, hopefully. "Why did you need this done right now?" he asked.

"So I can go buy ink. Printers won't tell you they need ink on their own. They have to have the computer do all the thinking for them. Can you believe that?"

He sighed deeply. "Yes, Mom, I can certainly understand that."

"Oh, before you go. Can you change the light bulb in the bathroom for me?"

He shook his head, grabbed the ladder and headed toward the bathroom. "Can you get the new bulb?" he asked.

I was so happy that I could help!