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Tech support with a dose of kindness
I grabbed my coffee and sat down to check emails — my morning routine. My computer booted right up but no matter how I moved my mouse, or pounded on it, I couldn’t find my cursor on the screen. Now, this had happened before, so I knew it was in there somewhere. After changing batteries, and plenty of rebooting and unplugging, and lots and lots more mouse abuse, I grabbed my phone to research a more cerebral attack. Proud of myself for being able to follow all the steps my AI-guided searches suggested, but without any joy, I set out for Phone ResQ on Atlantic. These guys had helped me before.
Inside I found a nice young man patiently advising another lost old man how to navigate getting a new phone. When it was my turn, he apologized that the guy who could diagnose my mouse wasn’t in yet. He recommended a place on 14th Street — full name, address, and all — but I walked out recalling a storefront on 14th that must be the place and forgot everything else he said. After several trips up and down the business district on 14th, then once on 8th for good measure, I saw the "Tech Amelia" sign on 14th Street where the fruit stand and flowers are. I pulled in and saw a shack holding more promise of housing fruit or flowers than what I needed. Boy, was I wrong.
A pleasant young man sitting amongst an array of equipment immediately greeted me and asked if he could help. I said, "Yes, I’ve lost my mouse and I’m wondering if you could help me find it." I grinned and handed over the mouse. He instinctively flipped it over to see if I had inadvertently turned it off. I hadn’t, but it was obvious he had helped many others that easily. Minutes later he announced that my mouse was dead. "Can you sell me a new one?" "No, but I can give you one. We have hundreds of mice around here." Resisting any retort about the ramshackle building and nearby fruit stand, I thanked him profusely, took it home, and my problem was solved.
I highly recommend both Phone ResQ and Tech Amelia if you have any tech issues. They will help you and you will leave uplifted, knowing that there are kind young men in our community who are caring and incredibly understanding with those of us not so young anymore.
John Hart and Melanie, his wife of 42 years, moved to Fernandina in 2020. John is a retired Air Force Colonel. John's career in federal acquisition took them to several states and to Germany for 10 years. The Harts have four sons who all live in Ohio.
Others in the community are invited to share their stories of kindness and compassion. If you have a story you'd like to share here in the Fernandina Observer - about a neighbor or friend or business that showed you kindness - please contact Peggie Weeks at pegweeks@gmail.com
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PaulaM
What a great service…spread the word!
Monday, November 17, 2025 Report this
Bob121
I have happily used Tech Amelia for my computer issues for years! Good people. Smart.
Monday, November 17, 2025 Report this
GerryC43
Great story about the rich life in a rather small community like Fernandina that is so full of talented residents where we lived in for over 20 years. Living in Jacksonville is bigger but not necessarily better. I enjoyed the Oyster Beds history as well...
Monday, November 17, 2025 Report this