How my elderly parents finally came to grips with using a smartphone

I love old folks. After all, my mum and dad are 80 years old.

In addition to having absolutely no control over their flatulence, old folks also have the best stories to tell.

Their tales are like sitting through a three-hour-long epic historical movie that’s peppered with love, betrayal and triumph – provided of course that you can tolerate the unapologetic and frequent spurts of gas.

My mum and dad tell the best stories and are really encyclopedias of my own heritage.

Their stories and a good meal are heaven to me and something I look forward to whenever I get a chance to visit them at their retirement home in Durban – albeit only three times a year and just for a couple of days.

Picture: iStock

In the periods when I could sit down with them over our ritual home-cooked meal and banter, I would pine for them … until I decided to give technology a try.

Now don’t get me wrong. My mum and dad, just like most old folks, are resistant to technological advancements and really put their weight behind the adage that “you can’t teach an old dog new tricks”. But I had to try.

They had only ever used the now antiquated Nokia 3310. For those who don’t know, it’s the cellphone with the green screen and snake game. And even that took months to get them used to.

Anyway, to cut a long story short, I decided to get them a smartphone and introduce them to video calling.

Let’s just say, after being subjected to my dad’s untrimmed grey nose hairs and my mum’s chin, teeth and spit – they finally learnt how to position their smartphone when I video called.

That was phase one of my plan complete. Now for the next step. And this should have really been the easier part. But, alas, no!

Picture: iStock

I logged into my Uber Eats app and ordered myself a lamb biryani from Chilli and Spice in Craighall and then changed the delivery address to my mum and dad’s to have the same meal for two delivered to them from Nadia’s Curry Café in Durban.

I then called them up to ask them to please meet the Uber Eats delivery guy at their reception area. Simple, right? Wrong!

A few minutes later, the Uber Eats guys is calling me up to “explain to your folks that you are not hiding in my car and this is not you trying to surprise visit them”.

Granted, I’d never introduced my mum and dad to the Uber Eats delivery app thing before this, so I was to blame for their reaction.

But once they came to terms with the fact that I wasn’t hiding in the Uber Eats deliver vehicle or that the meal was not sent all the way from Joburg, we were able to sit down over a video call and with our nontraditional but equally enjoyable meal and their amazing stories … sans the farting.

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