I’ve always wanted to explore virtual reality---you know,
where you put a gismo on your head and you walk around looking stupid because
you’re seeing things that others in the room can’t see. A walk in space, a visit to Buckingham
Palace, a roller-coaster ride, taking part in a boxing match or driving in the Indy 500 are just a few
examples of things you can do in virtual reality. I finally got my chance to
try it out this week. Our senior hall sponsored the event and it was so popular
they added two encore sessions. Translation: I wasn’t the only one who wanted to
do this, the RSVP wait list was so long they were able to book slots for sixty
of us instead of the expected twenty they thought would signed up.
Unbeknownst to me, there’s a business in town that books parties where they
hook up all your guests to virtual reality. How cool is that! Now, for $30 an hour I can travel and never have to leave the city, never have to worry about
getting a passport or being held hostage at the airport by a terrorist or a coronavirus
quarantine or worse yet, a terrorist coughing coronavirus germs all over the place.
We didn’t get the full menu of virtual reality choices like you’d get if you
went to their place of business but we did get to “visit” the Basilica of Notre
Dame, St. Paul’s Cathedral in London, the Taj Mahi and the Palace of
Versailles. If I ever do it on my own I’d go to space in Apollo 11 or to the
bottom of the ocean or try Google Earth. When I got my haircut yesterday I was
telling my hairdresser about the experience and she said she’d want to play Blade
and Sorcery or Space Pirate Training. Who would have guessed that a pregnant
little thing like her would be a blood thirsty little thing who is going to
quit her job in April and leave me searching for someone else to cut my locks?
She said quitting her job to be a full time mom is bitter-sweet. “Yes,” I told
her, “sweet for you and bitter for me!” I hate changing hairdressers but I’m
going to try another girl in the same the shop. I knitted her a hot pink pussy
hat back a few years ago when Trump was elected. She was thrilled and
personality-wise we’ll get along great. Wow, did I get side-tracked here!
Back to virtual reality. When they first handed out the head
gear it reminded me of an old stereoscopic from the 1890s that I sold recently
with its viewing lens lined up with two separate images of the same scene on its viewing cards. But the
VR viewers actually have two feeds/images per eye (one set hidden behind the other) and you’re
viewing videos that were photographed with cameras that can take 350
degrees photos. Utterly fascinating how they can make you feel like you’re actually
walking around inside the places that are being fed to the VR head gear viewers
from a computer.
And VR is not just for entertainment. An article I found on
the web said: “Virtual Reality is widely utilized in both mental health and
medical training, and is used to treat post-traumatic stress, anxiety, phobias,
and depression. Both medical and dental students have taken advantage of this
technology, as it enables them to practice surgeries and other procedures…Military
forces use VR for flight, battlefield, and vehicle simulations, as well as
medic training and virtual boot camp. It also helps them reduce training costs
and recreate training conditions safely.” Would I do it again? In a heartbeat!
And I might get the chance someday at the continuum care campus where I’m
moving. Their last newsletter had an article telling about how they are using virtual reality
in their memory care building.
Speaking of bringing the coronavirus to the U.S.A.---yes
I was, a few paragraphs ago---one of my Gathering Girls pals who I have brunch with
twice a month is on a cruise to the Mediterranean and will be in the area where
a hotel has hundreds of people on lockdown because of the coronavirus. I can’t
say I’m looking forward to having brunch with her when she gets back. Do you
think anyone would notice if I wore a face mask and drank my lunch through a
straw inserted in a hole in the mask? Would it be wrong of me to hope she
self-quarantines for two weeks after she gets back? The world of germs is a scary place. I ought to know, I’ve been a bit of a germaphobic starting in this century when I had to spend so much time around medical facilities
after my husband’s massive stroke and it ramped up big time the winter of 2019
when I got the flu so bad that I literally thought I’d die all alone and no one
would find me until the stench got so bad a safety officer from the police
department was called. That episode and the five day power outage that same
winter lite the fire under me about moving to the senior friendly community where someone
will check on me if they hear moaning through the walls. Ohmygod, I hope my future
neighbors wear their hearing aids more often than I do! I can't even hear myself pee when I'm not wearing mine. ©
