What happens when a snarky kid drags his no-tech parents kicking and screaming into the 21st century? He writes a book about it!
“Forget Google and ChatGPT; Dad gets his questions answered by a Magic 8 Ball and his drunk uncle. Dad refuses to use GPS. He says, ‘Great, now I have two women telling me how to drive.’
“Mom’s high-tech treadmill has a fitness app. She entered what she ate in one day and it sent an ambulance to our house. Neither of them understands our Smart TV’s remote. It can't change channels but it shuts off our neighbor's home dialysis machine.”
Take an uproarious ride as Mom and Dad declare war on:
• Online Shopping
• Email
• Zoom Calls
• Voice Mail
• Alexa
• Social Media
• Robot Vacuums
• Streaming Music
• Artificial Intelligence
• Smartphones
These and many more are illustrated with hilarious photos and described in wisecracking detail. Mom & Dad Are Dinosaurs! brings the funny for the whole family.
What happens when a snarky kid drags his no-tech parents kicking and screaming into the 21st century? He writes a book about it!
“Forget Google and ChatGPT; Dad gets his questions answered by a Magic 8 Ball and his drunk uncle. Dad refuses to use GPS. He says, ‘Great, now I have two women telling me how to drive.’
“Mom’s high-tech treadmill has a fitness app. She entered what she ate in one day and it sent an ambulance to our house. Neither of them understands our Smart TV’s remote. It can't change channels but it shuts off our neighbor's home dialysis machine.”
Take an uproarious ride as Mom and Dad declare war on:
• Online Shopping
• Email
• Zoom Calls
• Voice Mail
• Alexa
• Social Media
• Robot Vacuums
• Streaming Music
• Artificial Intelligence
• Smartphones
These and many more are illustrated with hilarious photos and described in wisecracking detail. Mom & Dad Are Dinosaurs! brings the funny for the whole family.
Dad used to wear a suit and tie and commute to his office downtown. Dad said work was like Christmas. He did all the work and a fat guy with a suit got all the credit.
Today Dad works from home. When he started, his biggest decision was whether to wear a bathrobe, sweatpants, or pajamas. He figured that out but now he has to remember when to change between his night pajamas and his day pajamas.
Dad seems happy to work from home. Now he can eat as many snacks and take as many bathroom breaks as he wants without comments from co-workers. He has enough crumbs in his keyboard to bread a chicken nugget.
Zoom calls have been a challenge. Mom and I and our dog Spiffy must remain very quiet when Dad is on a call. Mom was shocked to learn that Dad's co-workers thought her singing was distracting.
One day Dad had a Zoom call with a client. He was shouting at Dad like Gordon Ramsey demolishing a poor chef who just ruined a tiramisu. The guy said, “I want to speak with your superior!” So, I went and got Mom to join the call.
Dad’s job doesn’t have much of a health insurance plan. When Dad says, “I’m afraid of the dentist,” he means the bill. The lack of insurance caused Mom some anxiety, but instead of paying for therapy, the company gave her a mood ring.
Dad’s boss suggested that if we can’t afford a doctor, we should go to the airport for a free x-ray and breast exam. If we hint that we’re carrying a bomb, they’ll throw in a free colonoscopy.
Dad plans to make friends with the doctor down the block and drop health-related questions into conversations. We can’t afford aromatherapy, so Mom just randomly sniffs stuff and hopes.
Working from home might be getting to him. I've caught Dad having a conversation with a lamp. The other day Mom left a couple of dirty cups in the sink and Dad reported her to HR.
Frank Mastropolo’s Mum and Dad are Dinosaurs is exactly what the book set out to be. It is a humorous quick read sharing exaggerated recaps of his parents entering the 21st century, kicking and screaming. When you look at your parents, older relatives and/or older colleagues, you will recognize that you have come across at least some of the issues raised, which only adds to the comedic value. In fact, I think there are several instances where we may even see ourselves in place of the leading characters.
Sections have a statement title such as, The Best Way to Save Money is to Forget Who You Borrowed It From, Alexa Asked, ‘How Can I Return Myself?’, and Libraries: Where Books Go to Die. Within each chapter are short little anecdotes, for want of a better term. Paragraphs are often short and succinct summing up a mii story in just a few sentences. This structure makes for easy reading but does not offer broad information. Instead, it cuts to the chase and focuses on highlighting this issue the Mastropolo seniors have. In other words, it’s like a joke book that is literally just filled with a series of punchlines. If each of the stories were slightly more developed with smoother transitions between them, this could quite easily be a stand-up comedy performance.
Sadly, money is an issue in our family. If robbers ever broke into our house and searched for money, Dad would just laugh and search with them. Dad has worked himself up from nothing to a state of extreme poverty.
The book is a clean read, with no cursing or sexual content. Where it talks about issues that affect day to day life, the scenarios are quite ordinary. As a result, this book comes with a PG rating (please note that this is just my unofficial opinion), although I suspect the audience is likely to appeal to will be people in their late teens and above. There is a lot of content on working from home, social media, and technology that stands out against the other topics.
I would recommend this book for someone wanting a little chuckle in their lunch break, or someone wanting to occupy themselves on a short but mundane commute. It also makes a great joke gift for an elder and lets them know they are not alone in their thoughts. At 53 pages long, a decent size font, and large images at the start of each chapter, the book can be consumed in 30-60 minutes.