Relatively Minor
Laughter does not have to come from a major source. It could indeed be ... relatively minor.
I find myself spending so much time in front of my computer screen as the editor of the Winterset newspaper that sometimes I wonder if I’m turning into a robot. Thankfully, I have my artificially intelligent acquaintances to keep me company. They are smart, friendly, and always ready to lend a virtual hand.
Every morning, Siri and I have a chat. She’s the apple of my iPhone, and I don’t know what I’d do without her daily weather updates. How else would I know whether to wear flip-flops or snow boots? She’ll be my secret weapon during the tournaments on the road to the final four. Sports-minded Siri knows the teams and the television channels, so I won’t miss the game. Her up-to-the-minute scores share the wins and losses, no matter which way the ball bounced.
I use Grammarly almost every week. The name reminds me of that lady who used to spoil me as a child, even though my parents didn’t seem to care. Although unrelated, Grammarly shows me how to dot my i’s and cross my t’s in her own special way. She constantly tries to trim my wordy sentences, even though I have a lot to say. Then she tells me my sentences don’t make sense. So what’s wrong with a little wordplay?
Writing is indeed a solitary act – especially when staring at a blank page, trying to express my thoughts in words. But no worries! My artificially intelligent companions are always ready with just the right words, and a joke or two to lighten the mood.
“Hey Siri, tell me a joke,” I said.
“One day, I forgot how to throw a boomerang. Then it came back to me,” she replied.
I asked Grammarly if she thought the joke was funny, and she said, “Well, humor is subjective, so it depends on your personal taste. But I think the joke has a clever play on words with the boomerang coming back, so some people might find it funny.”
www.wintersetmadisonian.com
Member of the Iowa Writers Collaborative