Computer is key to staying forever young

Resslin' Around

I could see the horror on my grandma's face, 5,000 miles away. I smiled when I heard the story, knowing it takes some determination to stay forever young.

Mama and Papa, as we call my grandparents, just bought a new computer. For being 70 and 73, respectively, that is no small undertaking.

They had used a computer exactly zero times in their lives before, but with all the talk about e-mail, the Internet and the World Wide Web, it was too much for them. They finally gave in.

My uncle set it up for them in the basement of their Pennsylvania house. He put the computer "to sleep," so they wouldn't have to worry about figuring out how to turn it on the next day. And that's when Mama thought she broke the brand-new machine.

She was vacuuming, making sure not to get too close to the computer desk holding this modern marvel of a machine. She accidentally bumped the vacuum cleaner up against the leg of the table, causing the mouse to vibrate ever so gently, which in turn caused the computer to turn right on.

What to do? Mama had no idea what she had done. Actually, she thought she had broken it somehow. So she did what everyone would probably do — she called my aunt to find out what she should do next.

It's a funny story for those of us who use computers every day, who couldn't live without e-mail or the Internet. But for a pair of septuagenarians, that example alone could cause them to swear off using the machine.

My grandparents have always been a little more hip than other grandparents I know, but I never thought they would make the leap into the world of computing.

All the signs were there, now that I think about it. Last year, my wife and I visited them back East, and we saw the computer brochures from Dell and Gateway sitting on their coffee table. They had looked into it, they said, but they weren't sure they were going to buy one. Too much to learn, they said.

Now, almost a year later and after hearing about how we can send them pictures of their first great-granddaughter instantly, they finally decided to make the leap. They bought the computer, and now are taking lessons to learn how to use it.

So far, things have been a little bumpy with the e-mails. I have gotten three messages from them so far — two of them completely blank. But, to their credit, they are still trying.

The more I thought about them buying a computer and trying to learn how to use it, the more and more I thought how cool that really was. They have a routine in life, one that was established years ago and one that is followed nearly every day. They are comfortable with their lives, and live them to the fullest.

By getting the computer, though, it shook things up a little. It was their way of staying young, and it was a lesson everybody should follow. You certainly don't have to buy a new computer, but breaking out of the established patterns of life is good for everyone. Change can be very positive for people.

I think of Mama and Papa sitting at their new computer, bewildered about the possibilities the machine presents them, and smile.

I hope when I'm 70 and my wife is 73, we take the time to learn new things and venture out of our routine

It's the best way to stay forever young, much like my grandparents are doing.

Casey Ressler (ressler@alaska.net) is the Frontiersman Valley Life editor. He half expects his grandmother to be using her computer for online trading on the stock exchange in three weeks.