June 21^st is Dad’s Day.  Although my grandfather is no longer with us, every year my mom and I would get him a new electronic gadget.  My grandfather was the genesis of my love for technology.  All his life he struggled with vision problems.  In his later years it was difficult for him to read his favorite electronics magazines and technical journals, so I would read them to him.  He loved his big television and his reel-to-reel audio player.  Together we would watch my two favorite movies, The Sound of Music and the Wizard of Oz, over and over again.  I never grew tired of watching the same movies with him and he was happy spending time with me.  We wore out several VHS tapes!  Fortunately, today we have blu-ray DVDs which are far more durable.

For Dad’s day this year Best Buy is having a special sale that starts today and runs through Monday.  There are several great televisions ranging from about 37” to 52” inches on sale and a couple blu-ray players.  When I was growing up in South Florida, Best Buy didn’t have any store down there.  Due to his failing eyesight, my grandfather was always looking for bigger televisions with sharp pictures for both himself and he was paranoid that poor picture quality would hurt my eyes.  I know of no medical information that would support that, but those were his fears. 

I wish he were here today to see the successful woman I have become and to see all the awesome technology advances that have occurred in the last two decades.  If he was here today I know he would have a 50”+ HD television, blu-ray player and slick sound system.  But tucked away in a corner, I know he would still have his old reel-to-reel audio player…at least I still do.

I have loved technology as long as I can remember.  Before my father retired, he was an electrical engineer.  While an intelligent man who can debate anyone on any current political issue or match wits over calculus problems, he has always been baffled by the most minor technology problem.  As a child when the tv would stop working I would hear him bellow “Gina” and I would rush to his aid.  Usually the culprit was dead batteries in the tv remote, occasionally a loose wire. 

When I need to purchase presents for holidays and birthdays, I always think about the latest and greatest technology.  However, my Dad doesn’t like techie-geek gadgets.  My mother told me to get him an old-fashioned shaving soap brush.  Well, okay but I also wanted to give him something that came from the heart.  Something that could only come from me.

I decided to give him memories. He came up to visit for a week and has been helping me around the house, fixing stuff.  Since we don’t get to see each other often, I bought an Insignia HD camcorder.  The unit is small, lightweight and easy to use.  It has a 5 megapixel resolution (that means the video it captures is clear to see), has a three inch swivel LCD screen that allows you to see the images you are filming and has a powerful zoom feature (8x digital).  It also films in HD which I think is very cool but when I told my father, ever the engineer, he asked if that had anything to do with hydraulics! 

Time slips by so quickly.  I know every time my Dad looks at me he sees a five-year-old, little girl in pig-tails ready to start kindergarten.  I want to remember the time I spend with my father.  Making videos captures these gentle moments so that I can share them with him and others.