I am very aware I’m an old broad, who at times has been dragged into the new frontier of Technology. I am also fully aware I’m a control freak. If the airline would let me, I’d sit directly behind the pilot and tell him/her how to fly. Since that’s not an option, years ago, I decided to fly first class on any flight over two hours, so I can sit up front and keep an eye on things. Though I may nod off a bit, believe me, I’ve got one eye open.
In 2024 Waymo came to Los Angeles, San Francisco, and Phoenix and is partnering with Uber in Atlanta and Austin. The first time I saw one of these Jaguar spaceship vehicles with its whirly-gig roof feature I almost ran off the road. Now, they are a common site on Phoenix’s busiest freeways. When I’m stopped at a traffic light next to one, it’s freaky to look over and see no driver.
Last week one of my friends and her seventeen-year-old great niece said, “Sue, we’re going to take a ride in a Waymo; do you want to go with us?”
Me? No. In fact, hell no! “I’ll pass. Where are you going? Across town?”
“Just a short ride for the experience.”
“Where?”
“To the grocery store?”
“It’s one mile from here!”
“We’re too scared to go farther! Will you come and pick us from the store? We only want to risk our lives one way.”
They survived their ten-dollar ride and raved about it when I retrieved them. However, the teenager commented, “It was kind of creepy, Sue. In the driver’s console, there was a half-full bottle of water.”
Woo woo, voodoo. Waymo? Wayno!
I do not have a sophisticated palate; I’m far from a gourmand. Both of my grandmothers were excellent cooks; they prepared rural, regional cuisines. My paternal grandmother was the family legend of baking: pies, donuts, blueberry muffins, and cinnamon rolls were her forte. I knew I’d never learn to make pie crust or breads like hers.
Me thinks there is a substantial percentage of American consumers, who are so gullible they pay outrageous prices for routine items. Of course, my daughters are in that group. To me, a handbag or wallet fulfills a need. To them, it is a fashion statement. So I ask you: when was the last time you ogled someone’s wallet at the store checkout? When was the last time you coveted someone’s choice of paper towels or toilet paper? When was the last time you envied someone’s plastic bottle of water?
Dr. Suze Espouses 