Delete Delight

My MacBook Pro crashed right before I left for Pelican Preserve. All the great minds at the Apple store, who call themselves “Geniuses”, could not tell me the cause of the problem and why the only way to fix it was to “wipe the hard-drive”. I ignored his comment and replied that this hard-drive contained all my business files since 1990! Wiping my hard-drive sounded like a delicate touch of powder on an innocent baby’s butt. Geniuses have a way with words. Several geniuses looked at the sweat dripping down my face and assured me that “Wiping the hard-drive” is a gentle procedure and I will get all my data back.

The Lying Geniuses were wrong.  I think that they must have wiped them in a swirling bath of sulfuric acid. The files were restored, but not as promised. The carefully organized skeleton upon which all the data were distributed was wiped out (not just wiped!), leaving me with a new organization system that suggested that my data was “wiped” in the washer and dryer!

Despite this catastrophe, the word “Angry” never came to my lips. The word was more like “Vengeance”! I swore that the Geniuses had their last wiping of my MacBook Pro. The only question was how could I get my Computer fixed and still let the Geniuses know who they messed with!

I searched on the internet for computer repair services in the Ft. Myers area. One listing provoked my interest. It was located in Fort Charlotte. I jumped into my car and found the drab, store window, in a seedy part of town. The store’s name was “Dr. Delight Disentangles Dilemmas.”  I rang the bell and heard a pleasant melody of an old tune. Dr. Delight came to the door, introduced himself and, with a sweep of his arm, pointed to the only chair, other than the one behind his scratched and faded mahogany desk. The desk was covered with computer parts, and other electronics, which gave me some assurance that I was in the right place.

To say that Dr. Delight was old, was an understatement. His thick white hair swept in all directions. His bent posture, and fragile appearance made him look like he was 90 years old. In contrast to his appearance, he had a warm smile, with mischief in his eyes. He lit his pipe, and asked how he can be of service to me. He nodded as I detailed my reasons for the visit and responded with a robust laugh and offered a cup of tea, which I accepted. Dr. Delight told me that he had all the information he needed to give me what was needed and asked me to leave the computer with him. Hesitantly, I handed him my MacBook Pro and agreed to return in a week. It was a long, nervous wait, and, when I returned, I was greeted with a shock! The store was locked, the sign was gone,  and a glance through the window revealed no evidence that the store was still in business. My face turned white as I pictured an even greater disaster from the loss of my computer.  Suddenly,  I saw the package hidden behind the screen door. My name was on it and I knew my computer was safe.

I waited until I got home to open the package. My computer looked as good as new and a check of my file structure verified that everything was the way it should be. There was also something different and strange. A new three-dimensional button on the normally blank right side of the computer, below the keyboard, was flashing red and blue letters of the word “Delete.”

I studied the button for a while but then found a small, had-written list of instructions, pasted to the back of the computer. I read them with fascination and smiled, with delight, as I pressed the Delete button again and again.

The next day, Apple reported that all its personal computers, worldwide, used by its “Geniuses”, were, somehow, deleted of all their contents. Each Genius received a note, signed by Dr. Delight, suggesting that they see a Genius to Wipe their hard-drives.

Norman F. Estrin, Ph.D.

©“Delete Delight”, Jan. 8, 2019.