Does Zoom Work for Me? Dr. Ed Iannuccilli

Does Zoom Work for Me? Dr. Ed Iannuccilli

When I was a kid, if I was zooming, it was on my Rocket Royal Monarch Bike. Zoom meant speed, wind in my face, passing houses in a blur. Or it meant sound, THE sound, the one made by clipping a playing card to the wheel frame with a clothespin, making sure it was in a place so the flying spokes would hit the card and snap in cadence to explode the rhythmic effect of an engine, like a motorcycle that zoomed. Vroom . . . Zoom . . . Vroom.

Today, to Zoom is quite different. It is a video conferencing service used to virtually meet with others, either by video or audio only, or both. It is the phenomenon catalyzed by the threat of a menacing virus that has kept us confined. No longer are meetings over lunch or coffee or at a round table.

I hated conference calls. I wanted to see body language, the shuffling of papers, the twitchy leg, the spilled coffee, and the broken pencil when someone was anxious, or fibbing, or whatever. It took a while for me to get used to Zoom.

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Now, I Zoom weekly with our Italian group, hosted by a retired Brown professor, and I have grown to enjoy it. Sure, it will never replace our meeting in the Italian restaurant over pasta and wine, but this works . . . for now. 

During the initial meetings, I fumbled. It seemed I was watching Hollywood Squares, the old TV show. When anyone wished to speak or made a noise like banging the table, their square lit up. Then, my neurosis jumped in. I experienced the, “I feel like I’m on television,” effect. Oh! I don’t want them to see me with a collarless shirt. I jockeyed my screen so that I wouldn’t look too old or too pale or too anything. What’s behind me? Grandchildren pictures, of course.

 Then, I was asked to mute because of a barking dog (not mine), a wailing child (not mine), and a cell phone (mine). Really.

It did not take long for me to get over myself and into the learning, listening, speaking Italian. Forget appearances. We were in the classroom and, at home. And learning.

I hit the Zoom height three weeks ago when we had a reunion of my 1957 Classical High School class. There were so many participants that we needed two sessions. It was successful because it allowed graduates from all over the country to attend without having to travel. Though our friendships were less touchy, they were still palpable.

    So much in our lives have shut down: schools, bookstores, libraries, museums, restaurants, movie houses, and the theater. Sure, Zoom has enabled successful social distancing and has fostered digital learning, but it has taken me a bit to get used to being away from the warmth of the in person gathering.

Nonetheless, it is the one way you can stay home and stay sane while still in communication with family and friends.  Does Zoom work for me?  It works, for now.

Dr. Ed Iannuccilli is the author of three popular memoirs, “Growing up Italian; Grandfather’s Fig Tree and Other Stories”, “What Ever Happened to Sunday Dinner” and “My Story Continues: From Neighborhood to Junior High.”  Learn more here.