The old man and the MP3

The SanDisk Clip Sport. (Contributed Photo)

The loss of an inexpensive little MP3 player shouldn’t cause big consternation. I must report, though, that I have gone full cranky over the matter. And, as we all know, you should never go Full Cranky.

Maybe I’ll just dial things down to Moderate Cranky. So I’ll note that many plugged-in whippersnappers aren’t going to care about my old man approach to audio files. You kids, with your smartphones and your ear buds and your iTunes; you’re always listening to something. For you, a stand-alone MP3 player is probably a dinosaur since your phone has already got that stuff covered.

For me, though, a stand-alone MP3 player made a lot of sense. It was the most convenient way to listen to Chinese lessons. I wanted to squeeze this stuff into the gaps of my schedule, so getting untethered from the computer was necessary. Unless there’s a WWII holdout still hunkered down in a cave in Marpi, I might be the last person on the planet who doesn’t cart around a cell phone all the time. I’ve also had, and then retired, several little tablet computers, since I found that my appetite for screen time outside of working hours is limited.

A stand-alone MP3 player might be a niche item, then, but it happens to be my niche.

In this niche, for language lessons, where I’m constantly pausing and resuming the playback, a player called the SanDisk Clip Sport proved to be an ideal little gadget. It was small, about the size of a Chicken McNugget. I found that I could do most of the common operations by feel, so I didn’t have to stare at the thing. Give me 15 spare minutes and a shady spot under a tree, and I could put on my headphones and make it through half a lesson while enjoying the scenery.

I never bothered to test the battery life but it was listed at 25 hours. I probably recharged it twice a month, if that. It recharged via a standard micro-USB port. In an era where technology seems to claim so much attention, this was one thing that just did what it was supposed to do and otherwise managed to stay out of the way.

Anyway, after giving me years of faithful service, I rewarded its loyalty by losing the doggone thing. When I was shopping for a replacement I thought I’d get something fancier, more modern, and more impressive looking, so I wound up squandering money on things that didn’t serve me nearly as well. I have only myself to blame for this, of course. That’s what gets me on the road to Full Cranky.

Fortunately, the model that I liked is still available, listing for about $44, so I ordered a replacement. After I reassure myself that some evil genius hasn’t “improved” the design I’ll procure some spares.

I’ve found this device useful for playing music as well, but I have very simple needs in that regard so I don’t know how a more demanding customer would fare.

So much for the hardware end of things. Meanwhile, here’s something to consider: About 95 percent of the CNMI’s tourists come from China, South Korea, and Japan. It’s no coincidence that those are powerhouse economies, and I think it would be wise to study any one of those languages.

I was poorly equipped for this situation. In junior high school and in high school we could study French, German, or Spanish. Asia didn’t apparently exist.

There are now many of us who are trying to make up for lost time by using audio-format lessons for Asian languages. This involves extra effort for brains that don’t have the aural pliancy of youth.

If you compound that difficulty by putting a tonal language onto the plate (Mandarin, Cantonese, Thai, or Vietnamese, for example), it’s not just more difficult; it’s positively exasperating. In fact, in my case, I still don’t know if it’s really possible.

Consequently, I’ve stopped trying to learn new things. I merely concentrate on re-exposing myself to the old things. Audio files are useful for this. But, as useful as they are, I’ve never been willing to put up with any inconvenience to listen to them. That’s why this seemingly trivial thing, a user-friendly MP3 player, wound up having such significance.

Well, that’s my story. It’s not a yarn worthy of Hemingway, I’ll admit, but there it is anyway. Meanwhile, I’m staying at Moderate Cranky until I get my new MP3 player up and running. After that, I’ll find some shade under a tree somewhere and I’ll pick up where I left off.