Bob Cramer's Blog

It has been a good friend for years, staying with me during ups and downs, never passing judgement.  It gets stepped on a lot, but never complains and just powers ahead, providing feedback and inspiration as needed.

But a few weeks, during the height of the election, it went dark. It refused to count.  Perhaps, like the rest of us, it felt the weight of the world, or feared a Georgia recount, or just needed a new battery.  

I tenderly moved it around my bathroom floor, looking for just the right spot, to step on board like I’ve done so many times and see if it gives me a number, preferably a low one.  I even ordered specialized batteries on Amazon, five for five dollars, free delivery.  

For a while, nothing.  I thought my ol’ silver scale, which goes by the name, Taylor Lithium, or so it says right on the front, had finally given up the ghost, readied for retirement,  headed for recycling.  It’s springs might be tired, it’s digital readout empty, it’s feel-for-fat kaput.  

Taylor Lithium joined our household nearly 30 years ago.  It has seen five houses, three children, and dozens of feet.  “TL” was an early digital player, moving from analog to a more modern way of weight measurement, always on the ready, never a burden, silently ready for action.

In a move I didn’t want to make as Taylor Lithium lay there helpless on the floor,  I was forced to go to Amazon and see what was new.  Boy, have times changed.  A scale is not a scale, it is a smart body analyzer.  Bluetooth enabled apps are in vogue so your weight data can follow you on your new 5G iPhone. 

No longer restricted to reporting in half pound increments, like Taylor, now you can get your read out to the highest decimal point, like Pi (3.14159).  I like my Pie full-caloried. 

Want to know your body fat?  Have at it.  Want 13 other body composition measuring functions?  Here ya go. Anybody up for 4 precision sensors and auto-calibration? It is all available in the free app so the whole family can join the fun.

After hitting the order button for one of these new fangled “analyzers”, buyers’ remorse quickly set in and I felt like a character in “Toy Story”. I retreated to the rest room for one final try of ol’ faithful.  To my surprise, Taylor Lithium lit up, was reborn, and predictably gave me a reading that, honestly, may have been a little high but this isn’t a time to quibble.

The scales of justice may tilt towards progress, but I value loyalty, consistency and things with which I’m comfortable.  So I have a two-scale problem:  one on the floor, operating normally with a simple display;  the other trapped in a brown box, ready to be opened, and tell all you’d ever want to know. I have decided; progress will have to wait.