I sincerely hope that when I become an old man I will continue to have an understanding of modern technology and entertainment media.  The thought of becoming as disbelievingly dense as the woman in this retail horror story from Not Always Right chills me to the bone.

(I overheard two cashiers talking about World of Warcraft while an older female customer and her husband approached them.)

Cashier #1: “My guild went on a big raid last night but didn’t complete it.”

Cashier #2: “You weren’t able to kill the boss?”

Cashier #1: “No, the boss was really tough to kill; we’re going to try again tomorrow.”

Customer: *to husband* “We should call a manager–I can’t believe these kids are talking about killing their boss!”

Cashier #2: “Oh no, ma’am, it’s a video game called World of Warcraft. You go on adventures to kill monsters, and the big ones are called ‘bosses’.”

Customer: “I don’t care about your ‘World War’ game. No wonder there is so much violence in this world - video games teaching kids to kill their bosses!”

Cashier #1: “It’s not ‘World War,’ ma’am, it’s World of Warcraft, and it’s not teaching us violence…”

Customer: “I don’t care what it’s called. My husband fought in a real world war and he can tell you, violence is not a game! Right, Richard?

Customer’s husband: *distracted* “Huh?”

Customer: “Forget it. C’mon, we’re never coming back to this place. One of these kids is bound to shoot the place up.”

I'm suddenly reminded of the wisdom of Springfield's own Abraham Simpson: "I used to be with it, but then they changed what 'it' was. Now, what I'm with isn't it, and what's 'it' seems weird and scary."