Internet Dependency

 

 

Can you remember a time

When there was no Internet?

When there were long queues to battle

And patrons were vexed?

 

Especially on paydays

When the queues were extra long

And you took time off from work

Or when lunchtime bound?

 

I remember as a teacher

Early each payday morning

I would be standing outside the bank

Awaiting its opening.

 

On being dispatched

I would quickly head to school

In my attempt to be an example

In not breaking my rule.

 

The rule to be punctual

That I had taught my pupils

Since I felt to be chronically unpunctual

Was also an evil.

 

Do not shoot me down,

That was just how I felt

And regarding people and their time

That’s how I dealt.

 

 

 

But the time did come

When the Internet arrived

And today in most business ventures

Online is the drive.

 

Cheques are moving out

And we do business online

And this saves not only a lot of effort

But also saves time.

 

Less paper and stamps

As letters turn to emails,

And now we chat on WhatsApp, etc.,

Without fail.

 

 

 

We order from overseas

And we pay online

And when everything goes right

Parcels arrive on time.

 

Online text, voice and video

Most of us enjoy,

Not to mention the many gadgets

We now have as toys.

 

Little ones and even adults

Exercise their thumbs

As they play games on the Internet

For their daily runs.

 

 

 

And when Wi-Fi drops out

We are the proverbial fish

That wriggles and squirms around

With a singular wish.

 

Oh, for that water of life

That we call the Internet!

When it is up and running properly

All our needs are met.

 

Since we have at our disposal

The World-Wide-Web,

Books are decreasing alarmingly

As like spiders we’re fed.

 

 

 

Whatever we want to know

We can now turn to AI,

Artificial Intelligence is the bomb

Whether truth or lie.

 

We don’t have to think,

AI can do everything for us

And soon AI will become the god

We believe in and trust.

 

Don’t make light, I adjure you,

Of the preceding verse,

It is surely where we are headed

And for what we thirst. 

 

 

 

It is a dependency

That is becoming more stark

And sometimes I can’t help but feel

It is getting dark.

 

Can you remember a time

When there was no Internet?

Well, there are still long queues online

And patrons are vexed.

 

Stewart Russell © September 29, 2025

 

Identity Theft

 

 

Steal another’s property

That’s larceny,

Steal another’s wife

That’s adultery.

 

Steal another’s information

That’s identity theft

And when this happens

There is little left.

 

This invariably happens

On the Internet,

It is the cleverest thief

One has ever met.

 

They will claim your NIS

And your bank account

And hit you for hundreds

Even above that amount.

 

You’ll have a hard time

Proving you are you

And there is much more

A stolen identity will do.

 

 

It happens on Facebook

If you’ve been hacked

And often it’s real difficult

To get your identity back.

 

“It can’t happen to me”

Never say that,

But organize yourself,

Don’t fall for that trap.

 

Keep your information

Very close to your chest

For a stolen identity

Will also steal your rest.

 

Stewart Russell © October 20, 2020

 

Facebook Friend Requests

 

 

Facebook is something else

I mean really something though,

Sending me friend requests

From people I don’t even know.

 

Friend request after request,

There are so many on my list

That for the most part I ignore

And hope Facebook would desist.

 

But they just keep on coming

Local, regional, international too,

Some already my Facebook family

And maybe even from you.

 

But this one truly stumped me

And this is only recently,

A friend request from someone

Not only dead but buried.

 

 

A Facebook friend request

Straight from the great beyond

And this is a former teaching colleague

Who has long been gone.

 

I know of one other person

To whom this has also happened,

If the dead is now using Facebook

We ought to feel threatened.

 

I’ve been made to understand

That Facebook uses an algorithm

That brings together users of like tastes

As part of its operating system.

 

Having received such a request

I have telephoned for confirmation

Only to be met with a response

Of resolute negation.

 

Now what really concerns me

Are requests from the dead,

This kind of operation by Facebook

Is messing with my head.

 

 

Dare I telephone the dead

To ascertain such a friend request,

I would be considered a lunatic

With zero intelligence left.

 

However, here is what I will do

The next time the opportunity arises,

I will investigate this matter

And share with you any surprises.

 

 

 

Next time I go to a graveyard

I will diligently check for the Internet

And whether it is FLOW of Digicel,

I would know what to expect.

 

Meanwhile,

 

If you get a friend request from me

After I am dead and gone,

Consider it a technology breakthrough,

I am calling from the beyond.

 

Stewart Russell © August 22, 2023

 

Online and Offline

 

 

Offline and online

Out of line and in line,

What a distance we have come

In a pretty short time!

 

In my growing-up days

It was stand in line

Like boarding the school bus:

Remember that time?

 

However, to stand in line

Is now to queue up

And you will get fixed

If you have any luck.

 

 

Or walking a straight line

If suspected of a DUI,

On the breathalyzer test

They now rely.

 

Before I forget

There was also out of line:

A reference to the rowdy

And the unruly kind.

 

There was the plumb line

Ask any mason about that:

Walls lined up back then

That is a fact!

 

Draw a straight line

And do it freehand:

In Mr. Broodhagen’s art class

That was the plan.

 

Top of the line

Used to mean the best,

It’s a cliché nowadays meaning

Just like the rest.

  

Out of line and in line

Were based on a standard

But online and offline

Speaks to going forward.

 

Money pinned to a clothesline

Is not paying online,

It would be off the line

In the quickest time.

 

A word to the foolish

And this should be sufficient:

If the above cap fits you

You are clearly deficient.

 

Computer devices help

If pupils are online,

Some are without the Internet

Even in this time.

 

 

Pupils will not be in line

If they are offline,

We would be out of line

If we move on at this time.

 

So, spare a thought

For the most vulnerable,

If they are not online

We are asking for trouble.

 

Planning takes time

If all are to benefit,

It will take more than talk

As is the frequent habit.

 

Throne speeches are great

But they are not law,

Commendation to our G.G.

Whom we must applaud.

 

She was clear and distinct

Definitely in line,

It’s now up to the PM

And her team at this time.

 

A promise is not a deed-

We must never forget,

More like comfort to a fool

No different from a bet.

 

Offline and online

Out of line and in line,

Not too much difference-

Mostly one of a kind.

 

Offline is out of line

Online is in line,

If we have no connection

We are in a bind.

  

Make sure all are online

Before moving on

Or the vulnerable will be offline

When the train is gone.

 

I know we are anxious

To return to the norm

But we must be very careful

In this COVID storm.

 

Stewart Russell © September 16, 2020

 

 

All on Board?

The train pulled out of the station

Not all seats were taken,

The ones who were not on board

Must have felt forsaken.

Leaving no one behind

Was the ad for this train company

But it hurriedly left the train station

When all were not ready.

Many were left on the platform

Through no cause of their own,

Add to these the many others

That had not even left their home.

They did not have

Or could not afford the Internet,

The cost of the requisite devices

Could not be met.

In the skill sets and the knowledge

They were far behind

But the train pulled out unexpectedly

And they were not on time.

The usual destinations

Still had to be reached,

Few time adjustments were given

There was to be no breach.

Those for whom life was a struggle

Even when it was normal

Now had a greater set back

In this time of COVID upheaval.

There was an understanding

It could not be business as usual

And so, one would have expected

That timelines would be more adjustable.

 

But after a brief warning

The train had pulled out

And it didn’t really matter

How the stranded passengers cried out.

There have since been cries

From some on the train

For whom the journey started well

But have become a strain.

Some services have stopped working

With complaints on every side,

It is almost as though

Some passengers are being denied.

Some are painting a great picture

Of the ongoing journey

While not a few others

Are highlighting its obvious misery.

 

Could the train not have been delayed

For just a while longer?

Why was there this rush to depart

Only bearing the stronger?

Must the quality of the service

Be for a particular few

And lip service and promises only

Be all the most vulnerable is due?

Can the train be now stopped

For a necessary review

Or, would this reflect unfavourably

On the administrative crew?

We often ruminate about those

That are falling through the cracks

But for some hidden reason

These have become deliberate tracks.

When will we determinedly decide

To get rid of the cracks

So that they are none to fall through

Or in which to become trapped?

Are we really serious

Of having all passengers on board

Or, is this education destination

Only for those who can afford?

For, the train has pulled out

And not all seats have been taken,

It seems to me, my erudite friends,

That some have been forsaken.

There may have been a feigned call

Sorry, that should be ‘faint’

But many could not have answered...

To me, this is rather quaint.

Stewart Russell © May 2020

The Old New Year

How many months I ask

Before I name a New Year old?

Or is it the days instead

When mornings are not cold?

Has one noted, for example

The month or the day

When the greeting has gone

Of “A Happy New Year”?

I’ve given it some thought

And after January it’s done,

After 31 days, one single month

The year is old and into rerun.

Now how did I come by that?

What is it that clinched it for me?

What about the new resolves?

They appear forgotten by February.

The old habits have returned

I’m not sure they’d ever stopped

And the old practices we knew

Once more become our props.

I suppose it is the difficulty

Of adjusting to the new,

The old nature is still present

But that is just my view.

You may disagree with me

And I have no problem with that,

My view is just my view

And it need not be a fact.

Perhaps you may suggest March

The third month of the year

When we deal with income tax

For some that is hard to bear.

For by April the first

The tax forms must be in

For a few more then

The humdrum will begin.

Maybe some will go for April

Though that’s stretching it a bit,

On the first I won’t believe you

All Fool’s Day is just a trick.

In May there is nothing left

The New Year has gone for sure,

You may or may not agree

But the New Year is no more.

By now you see what I mean

We are into the month of June

And with it the hurricane season

June has come too soon.

It’s almost the halfway point

The New Year surely is now old,

Through July, August and September

We must do as we are told.

Our ears are glued to the radio

To the TV, Internet and cellphone,

Our eyes are focused on the east

In this we are not alone.

October, November, December

Another year is quickly through

Back to the point we began at

A Happy New year to you!

Stewart Russell © January 2018