I held the phone tightly in my right hand. With my left, I rubbed my dry, tired eyes. I looked at the clock in my Mac's menu bar. I had been on the phone for forty-five minutes, with no indication that I'd be hanging it up any time soon."OK," I said in a slow, deliberate tone. "Let's start from the beginning. Click on the Mail menu. A list should appear. Do you see it?"
A pause. "Yes," my mother said.
"What do you see in that list?" I said.
"File ... About Mail ... Preferences ...."
"Good. Do you see 'Quit'?"
"Yes."
"Excellent. Click on 'Quit' and we'll start again."
Welcome to my personal hell, circa 2006. Pull up a chair. Get comfortable. We're going to be here for quite a while.
