I closed my laptop in frustration and pulled my chair back from my desk. I'd just about had it trying to get this damn thing to work. I used the computer and technology regularly, but for whatever reason, this particular online bill payment was a nightmare to try to set up, and they were discontinuing any other form of payment this month. So I gave up and texted my neighbour.

 

I wasn't old, really, in my fifties, but he was about thirty years my junior. He was a sweet young man, seemed to be fairly successful in business even in his twenties, and he often helped me out with the few yard tasks that weren't as easy for me to do anymore. As I said, I usually did perfectly fine with technological things, so I'd never needed to ask him for that kind of help. But I was frustrated, he was nearby, and he would definitely be able to figure it out.

 

About 20 minutes later, he came over. It took him all of 45 seconds to get everything set up for me.

 

"Thank you!!! I usually don't have a problem with this sort of thing; I don't know why this one was such a pain."

 

"Well, it's done now," he said, somewhat impatiently. "You really should learn to do this stuff on your own, though. The world is changing, fast."

 

This irked me. I was older than he was, sure, but I wasn't nearly as out of touch as he seemed to think. And coming from someone who was usually quite sweet and kind, I wasn't sure what to make of it.

 

But I would need to teach him a lesson.

 

"Hmmm, you're right. Would you be able to show me a few things? So I can do them on my own next time, you see."

 

He agreed, and I started subtly smoothing out my voice. Telling him what a good boy he was. Getting him accustomed to hearing my voice gently worming its way into his mind.

 

I came up with various things to ask him to show me, 99% of which I already knew how to do myself. But each time he showed me something, I smoothed my voice just a liiiittle bit more and told him what a good boy he was, how kind he was to show me how to do these things.

 

Slowly, gently, I guided him to log into his own bank account to see how firmly my words had taken hold.

 

Obediently, unquestioningly, he did it.

 

"Such a good boy, showing me all these things. Do you think you could be good for just a little bit longer and show me how to transfer money between two accounts belonging to different people or banks?"

 

"Yes," he mumbled.

 

"Good boy!"

 

I had him transfer some money into my account. Not enough to really hurt him financially, but enough to teach him a lesson.

 

He may be a success in business and technology, but I've forgotten more about people than he's ever known, and he'd best not forget it.