Warmest regards: Can you can teach old dogs new tricks?

By Pattie Mihalik

I was going to call this column we’re never too old to learn, but the “old” label bothered me until I recalled the old expression about teaching old dogs.

Whoever said you can’t teach old dogs new tricks doesn’t know me.

I just learned some new tricks that only qualify as “it’s about time” behavior.

Sooner or later our bad habits catch up to us. For me, those bad habits include not reading instruction books and tossing aside informative reading until “someday” when I have time.

OK, here’s a perfect example to illustrate that. When I didn’t have the morning newspaper that always accompanies my first cup of coffee, I settled for the Consumer Reports magazines I had tossed aside.

One column caught my eye about understanding convection ovens. What’s the difference between convection bake and convection roast?

According to Consumer Reports, true convection ovens have a setting for convection roast that bakes big chunks of meat crisp and juicy.

Ah, wish I had read that before I cooked my big holiday turkey. Getting the turkey brown and crisp enough without drying it out is always a hassle for me.

Sadly, I have to confess I’ve had a stove with the true convection roast setting for about three years but I never used it.

I never understood the difference between convection bake and convection roast because I never got around to reading the instruction book that came with my new stove.

I was going to do it “someday” when I had time.

You know how that goes. Our “someday” list is longer than our life span.

All that made me recall how much my daughters and I laughed at their father’s choice of reading material.

When we were all packing for vacation, the girls and I packed books we wanted to read.

Andy packed instruction booklets. He was a stickler for believing we shouldn’t use anything until we first read the instruction booklet.

He believed in that so firmly that one year my daughter Andrea gave her dad a great commercial-grade photo scanner when they first came on the market. She thought he would fool with it while we were on vacation.

Instead, he left it at home and only brought the instruction booklets.

When Mac first came out with those jazzy iMacs, Andy bought me a turquoise one. I absolutely loved it and couldn’t wait to use it.

“No,” he said. “You can’t use it until you read the manual. You have to know what it’s all about.”

I never did read that manual. Nor did I read the ones that come with subsequent Macs.

I was lucky enough to work for a newspaper with a great IT department. Whenever I needed to know something, they were there to help.

Well one of the regrettable things about retirement is that the IT department is no longer there. You have to figure things out for yourself. For most people, that would mean reading the manual.

Sure, it’s on my “someday list.” Meanwhile I have to hire a Mac expert when I’m really stuck.

My built-in excuse for that is “I’m not a techie.” I get lost trying to figure it out.

But I have no excuse for not reading the booklets that came three years ago with my new stove and refrigerator.

That informative column in Consumer Reports gave me the incentive to finally read them … or at least move that project up to the top of my to-do list.

I think we’re all creatures of habit. Some of my habits could be viewed as beneficial or as a waste of time, depending on one’s viewpoint.

For instance, I’m a well-read newspaper reader. I especially like our local newspaper because it tells me what’s going on in the area. I would miss a lot of good things if I didn’t read about them in the paper.

Yet some good habits can become bad ones if we are excessive.

I probably read an excessive number of library books. I love reading and am grateful for our well-stocked local libraries. I usually go through four or five books a week.

While that may sound like a good thing, it’s time consuming and gobbles up time I should be spending in other pursuits — such as tackling my “someday list.”

I have several months worth of Consumer Reports waiting to be thoroughly read. When I get a new issue I often leaf though it and say, “Oh, this is good to know. I’ll read it when I get time.”

Then the magazines stack up until I admit I’m never going to go through all of them. Instead, I save them for when I want to buy something and need to read about product ratings.

Truth be told, all those ratings don’t mean much until you want them. It’s impossible to remember them all.

What I learned belatedly is that I’m missing out on information I should know. I’ll try to incorporate some of that reading into my reading time.

So, sure, it’s possible to teach an old dog new tricks.

I just don’t understand how someone can get as old as I am and still have so much to learn.

Einstein said we don’t have to know everything. We just have to know whom to ask.

Now, that’s a piece of advice I can follow.

Contact Pattie Mihalik at newsgirl@comcast.net.