I have never been so grateful for my iPhone, Steve Jobs and Zoom
Before the lockdown, it seemed my family and I only got together once a year on the beach in Sarasota. In March when the lockdown hit, we all started meeting on zoom. And I mean all, from my immediate family, Mom, Dad, two brothers and my sister to my three nieces and yes, even my husband. All hunkering down in our own little bubbles. We came together for an hour every Sunday.
On the second Sunday, Dad called me 3 minutes before our meeting asking, “now, how do I get on?” Talking him through accessing zoom on his computer became a ritual every Sunday. Actually, I started calling him 10 minutes early each Sunday to make sure he and mom were ready to get on and see their kids and grandkids. Before I knew it, I was calling even earlier. It was just Dad and me on Zoom for 20-30 minutes before the rest of the family popped in.
He was so excited each weekend to tell me about what he’d found on YouTube or some great story he’d read on the internet that opened his world. He saw old episodes of Hee Haw and educational shows on Indian arrowheads (his passion). He was amazed. I was the lucky one to get this time together, just he and I.
Now that COVID was in full bloom and lockdown was happening, Dad couldn’t go to Best Buy to see the “Geek Squad” when he had computer or phone problems. I spent 4 days Zooming or Facetiming with my him, walking him through how to reset my mom’s iPhone password.
ME: Dad, do you see the grey wheel-looking icon?
DAD: (No answer)
ME: Dad, what do you see?
DAD: (No answer)
He was just staring at his screen, so I took a picture of my screen, circled in red what I wanted him to see, numbered the photo #1 and sent it to him.
DAD: Wow, how did you do that? Oh, you circled the app for me to click on, but it won’t open it.
ME: Dad? Are you clicking on the app or the picture I sent you?
As soon as we worked that out, I repeated this process sending him photos with circles and arrows and a paragraph on the back of each one… oops. (Sorry Arlo, I got carried away.) Just circles and arrows. Finally, after a few hours each day for 4 days straight, we got my mom’s password changed.
He called one day, his wireless printer had stopped working. After hours of Facetiming, we were able to uninstall and re-install his printer software and it worked! He thought I was a genius. I told him that Steve Jobs made me smarter!
Three days later, August 12th, he fell and passed away the next day.
I am a lucky kid; I am so grateful that I got to spend the extra time with my Dad, working through technical things. We got through it together with love and patience.
I gotta go, I have to Facetime with my mom and walk her through turning off the flashlight on her iPhone!
Julie Zipperer
Host of Julie’s Joint, Creator of awesome & Yummy PJS, FAR-West Board Member
Wife of singer/songwriter John Zipperer, Momma of Harley Jane the Puppy
In an attempt to keep us connected as we continue to find our way through these often stressful times, some in our extended community have been sharing their experiences, lessons learned and hope as they’ve dealt with Covid, lockdown, boredom, lack of inspiration, etc. We are all looking for ways to make lemonade out of the many lemons! This column will continue on a weekly basis and postings will be released at 10 AM Pacific every Monday, so watch for them! For guidelines and submission details, please contact Julie Zipperer at juliez@far-west.org or Marlynn Block at marlynn@far-west.org. Submissions will be posted based on approval from the Lockdown Lemonade Committee.
So sweet Julie! I’m so glad you had this time with your dad. ❤️
Me, too Deborah! thank you!
Beautiful story, Julie. Thank you for sharing it.
Thank you Pat! ❤️
You have the patience of a Saint. Before he passed I used to spend equal time teaching my dad how to use his ‘new fangled machine’ and wringing my hands in frustration. Thank you for sharing your story. Zoom is certainly worth it’s weight in gold for allowing us to truly stay connected during this difficult time.
Patience! We need lots of patience these days! Zoom is becoming my friend. ❤️
Oh now i’m crying…beautiful
you were named appropriately
you are a jewel
AWWWW! Thank you Marilyn! ❤️
Beautiful….what a gift you gave each other.
So sorry for your loss!
Thank you! We were each others biggest fans! ❤️
Simply beautiful, Julie.
Thank you Russ!
Julie, What a wonderful story. Thank you for sharing. Such a good reminder to take the time to connect.
Jeanne
Thank you Jeanne! We need to connect, it’s been a long time! ❤️
Awww Julie, so sorry that you lost your dad this summer. I’m glad that you had those extra-special pre-zoom conversations, and thanks so much for sharing this bittersweet story with all of us.
Thank you Dharmika! Miss seeing your smiling face! ❤️
What a wonderful story! Thank you for stepping up and sharing!
Thank you Bill! You are always so kind and supportive! ❤️
What a beautiful story. I know you miss your dad but what a blessing you have these memories, text and zoom. Time with your dad like this is…..priceless. ❤️ Love you.
Thank you Sharon! Love you, too! ❤️
I loved it Julie. So sorry your Dad fell and did not survive. But I am thankful your Dad had no doubts he raised a great, caring daughter. Harley Jane is lucky to have you as her Mom. John is lucky to have you as his wife. I am very grateful to have you, John, & Harley Jane as friends.
Thank you Ken. He was my biggest fan besides my husband, John! I know that John and I are grateful for your friendship, too! ❤️