The
Herald Dispatch |
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Don't just dust around your kids' computer: Use it |
| How many of you
parents have a computer in your home that you never touch? Even though you're probably a
little embarrassed to admit it, I bet a lot of you are like me. My son, Richard, received a computer for Christmas a few years ago. My sister and my niece helped him set it up and soon after he subscribed to an Internet service. As a student at Marshall University, it has helped him with his homework and that's pretty much all I expected out of it. I use a computer at work mainly for word processing, but that's about all I have to do with those types of machines. I never thought I'd need to "go on-line" for anything. When I want to communicate with friends and family, I just pick up the phone. When I need to buy something, I go to a store. And if I need to travel somewhere, I always took care of that without the help of a computer. But recently I realized that I was missing out on a whole lot of interesting and convenient things by thinking that cyberspace was a place I'd never need to visit. It all started one day when I was sitting on a bench in front of the newspaper enjoying a breezy summer day. Huntington lawyer Larry Tweel walked by and told me that he had seen a picture of me on a Web site containing information about the Huntington High class of 1962. I didn't believe him at first. He finally convinced me, though, that my image was floating in cyberspace somewhere and others had seen it. Now, I'm not a vain person, but I just HAD to see this picture. I couldn't image what picture of me could be on this Web site. I hoped it wasn't embarrassing. Larry couldn't recall the Web site address at the time, so I had to call his office later to get it. I had to wait for Richard to get home before I could access the site. All I knew about the computer is that I got a bill once a month to pay for the on-line service. Other than that, I never paid it much attention unless I had to type a letter and print it out. Once we called up the Web site, I laughed until I cried remembering all the good times we had in high school and at various reunions. And with my son's help, I sent an e-mail message to the Web site creator, Harvey Taylor. Harvey replied promptly and encouraged me to send him more photos and information to add to the site. He said he'd also like to hear from other classmates. The Web site address is http://www.oocities.org/~huntingtonhigh/ and his email address is htaylor@mindspring.com. Classmates also may contact Becky (Phillips) Payne at BECKY0206@aol.com. I called a girlfriend and told her that I had been "surfing the 'Net." She told me it was about time and said I should keep at it. She also told me that I should set up my own e-mail address. Now, I'm a surfing fool. I've found that sending e-mail is cheaper than calling long distance and faster and more convenient than sending a letter. I don't have to worry about missing the person I want to talk to and having to leave long-winded messages on answering machines. I also don't have to worry about forgetting what I wanted to say to the person, either. (Believe or not, my memory isn't what it used to be.) I send messages to my sister and nephew all the time now. I'm still not a whiz, but I have a feeling that I'll be outsurfing my son soon. My girlfriend has been telling me about all this exciting stuff she's seen. She's ordered stuff, paid bills and read newly published romance novels without leaving the house. My advice to the rest of you parents who are just used to dusting around the computer in your house is to tickle the keys a little and see where they take you. A chance encounter has brought a whole new world of information to me. The only thing I have to worry about now is kicking Richard and his friends off so I can get my surf on. |
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