Civilization Finally Came to the East Texas Woods and I Haven’t Slept for Days

Progress has a price

Not me, but I feel his pain (Photo by hamza tighza on Unsplash)

Anyone who has followed my Mayberry Chronicles over the past few years knows that I have experienced some significant changes from my old life in the Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex (besides both of my parents going on to their Great Reward, of course). I traded constant noise, concrete, convenient fast-food and grocery stores, and random gunfire for mind-numbing silence, trees, 20-minute drives for a burger or gallon of milk, and random gunfire (though to be fair, the gunfire here is mostly directed at four-legged animals rather than fellow bipeds). On the whole, it’s been a win. Except for the internet issue.

My parents last had an internet connection in 2000, and the Windows Millennium Edition computer still resides in the storage building as proof. For the past several years, the only piece of technology here has been the box for DISH satellite, and it predates the invention of DVR. When Spectrum finally ran lines out to this part of East Texas last year, I tried in vain to get my stepdad to switch to them, but his fear of losing Jeopardy or the NASCAR channel blocked any action. Thus, I continued as I had since first coming out here when my mom got sick in January 2023, using the hotspot on my phone to connect to the internet. It’s been a nightmare.