A Conversation with Mum about refilling the e-ink in her Kindle.

Mum phones:

Mum:   What’s e-ink?

Me:       It’s what’s in your Kindle.

Mum:   How does it get in there?

Me:      Erm.

Mum:   Is it like one of those Etch-a-Sketches you had when you were a kid?  You know you twist the dials to make a picture?

Me:       It’s exactly like that.

Mum:   You’re just saying that.

Me:       I  don’t know how e-ink works but it’s clever.  It’s not a powder like Etch-a Sketch.  Remember you shook them to clear the screen.

Mum:   Good thing it’s not like Etch-a thingy then.  Have you had to change a cartridge yet?

Me:       No–there’s no cartridge.

Mum:   So what do you do when it runs out?

Me:       It won’t run out.

Mum:   How do you know that?

Me:       It’s not like ink for your printer.

Mum:   Oh.  You know I was looking at it wondering if you had to pour it in the back or how you did it.  It’s pretty skinny.

Me:       It’s just magic.

Mum:   It must run out at some point.

Me:      No, it’s like the print on your computer, that doesn’t run out either.

Mum:   Oh.  I never thought about that.  Why didn’t you tell me?

Me:       You’ve had a Kindle for years and you’re only just thinking about that  now.

Mum:   That’s why I was so worried about the ink.  Must’ve been due to run out.  I’d have stopped worrying about the damn thing. I got angry about not being able to turn off those pictures that go on the screen whenever you’ve not used it for a while.  I was thinking about all that wasted ink.

Me:       I should’ve told you.

Mum:   Would’ve stopped me wasting time on Cartridge world.  They didn’t know what I was talking about.

Me       You went to Cartridge World looking for e-ink?

Mum   Well, Harvey Norman didn’t have it.

Me       Laughing

Mum   Stop it.

Me       Can’t.