I guess we should be lucky that we are living in the computer age. By and large, these devices have made our lives a lot easier and allowed us to do things we never thought possible.

For instance, thanks to a computer, we were able to put a man on the moon and bring him safely home. Everyone of a certain age knows right where they were when Neil Armstrong took that first small step.

I remember the first computer that I owned. It was about 17 year ago. It was an IBM machine and it was huge. I was able to surf the Internet, if that's what it was called back then. Not many websites existed back then.

I also had my first email address, which would have been really cool had I had any friends with email addresses. Unfortunately, only a handful of people had email addresses back then.

I've gotten over my love of email. On a typical day, I get more than 100 emails at my work address, and occasionally some of them say things that can't be printed in the newspaper.

Back then, I used the computer more for fun. There weren't as many practical uses for it back then.

Boy, have times have changed. Nearly everything we do these days is tied, in some way, to a computer. For instance, I haven't seen an actual pay check for years. I have it deposited directly into my checking account and, on pay day, the money magically appears.

I seldom ever see any of my money, either. I only write a dozen or so checks a year now. It used to be a huge chore to pay bills. I had write out checks, tear off the bill stub, stuff it all in an envelope, stick a stamp on it and mail it.

With a few clicks on the computer today, I pay the power bill, the credit card bill and any other bills that are due. It's very convenient, and I can sit around in my underwear and pay bills, if that's what I want to do.

I do sometimes miss the days of taking an actual pay check into the bank and handing it to a teller.

"Deposit this into my account, please," I say to the teller, whom we'll call Beth.

Beth takes the check and gives me a receipt indicating that she has, in fact, deposited my money into my account.

"Thank you for banking with us," Beth says with a smile.

I liked dealing with tellers. It was more personal that way. Computers don't have much emotion. I don't get so much as a sound from my bank's website when I pay a bill.

I also like the fact that if, for some reason, my money doesn't get deposited, I can go back to the bank and demand that Beth tell what she did with my money.

Of course, I run the risk of finding out when I get to the back that Beth has taken my money and run off with her boyfriend to Aruba.

But at least I know where my money is. With computers doing all of my banking these days, I'm baffled as to what really happens to my money. All I really know is that one minute, my money is safe in my account. Then, with a push of a button, Georgia Power has my money.

My greatest fear is that the people at my bank don't understand what happened, either. I won't get too worried, though, unless I overhear one of them talking about taking a trip to Aruba.

I think for old-times sake, I'm going to look for an excuse to take a check into my bank and deposit it. It'll be a touch of nostalgia, and that's always fun.

But if the teller's name is Beth, I'm moving on to the next window.

Mitch Clarke is executive editor of The Times. His column appears Sundays. Read previous columns at gainesvilletimes.com/mitch. Follow him on Twitter @MitchTimes.