By Michael Sheehan


Dr. Sheehan was never a student of consumer technology. Those gadgets that are supposed to simplify your life. His days were filled with his medical practice, his family and his internal struggle to the larger questions.

At work, he was wary of the new devices used for testing his patients and, at home, even the alarm clock wasn't a necessity. A child of the '20s and '30s, and a father of 12 children, his needs were few. And like many in his generation he gave a stiff arm to the new toys that were suppose to do the work for you.

He traveled the town in his Volkswagen Bug (later, a Honda Civic) and kept his wardrobe to a select few items. His typewriter was circa 1950; his library filled with books published before 1920.

Occasionally he broke from his frugal traditions. He did his best trying to film the family with the new home movie camera of the early '60s, leaving us with about 20 seconds of viewable footage. He began to carry a "beeper" in the late '70s when he realized that he could use it to get himself out of unwanted social situations. Before that, the only state-of-the-art device to enter the house was a remote controlled TV antenna (pre-cable era) so that he could get reception of a New Jersey channel on which he was often a guest. (We liked the antenna because we were able to pick up the New York Knick games on a Spanish VHF channel. No matter the only words we understood were the player's names.…."Jerry Lucaaaaaaaaas," the announcer would scream as the Knick's center buried a long range shot.)

Most of the time, he just wanted to stick to the basics. He was not a consumer and he found it hard to spend a buck. In truth, he realized that his absent minded ways meant that eventually he would lose whatever gadget he purchased. So he just didn't go there.

The digital watch, however, was different. The digital watch could simplify his life. Given to him as a gift by a Texas jeweler, he soon learned to appreciate its value. In fact, he believed the digital watch was one of the most important advances ever made for the athlete. Why? "It puts the runner in charge," he declared. "It frees you. You become your own coach as you run splits, pace, or race." The watch added value while also reminding him of the date and time. He never took it off.

When his health failed, and running was no longer an option, his favorite toy became a new short wave radio. "There is so much going on," he advised, "You can find a story on everything." It whet his appetite at a time when his time was evaporating. His enthusiasm never waned as the short wave delivered its signal.

Until those final days with the radio, not many gadgets were needed to help him complete his day. This skinny, gray haired man with a great pair of legs would strive and dive for the finish of each race and each day. He sifted through his time like a boy searching for clues to a lost treasure chest. And with running, he held what he wanted most, the freedom to escape.

I sometimes think of the possibilities if the Internet had been available to him. Realizing its power he would have spent the buck and learned, a bit awkwardly, the rules of e-mail and search engines. What a great forum for his stories and advice. His audience would have had no boundaries.

Certainly, the Internet would have made his list of important technological advances, but, being a runner, he would have placed it behind the digital watch.