RIP Olive Riley

I was watching CNN yesterday to keep up with my scandalous Obama cartoons, and saw a scrolling headline that caught my eye.

"World's Oldest Blogger Dies at 108"

I was wowed by this headline for many reasons.

108 is really damn old. I think any years beyond 100 are frosting. Most likely, drooling, bed-ridden frosting.

It's very cool that someone that old had the where-with-all to write. I can barely squeeze out something meaningful to say after walking around in the humidity.

How impressive that this woman learned, not only how to use the internet, but how to blog. My 60-something-year-old father can't even send an email.

Oh dad, your lack of computer prowess is so endearing.

My dad recently obliged his employer by getting a computer in his office. I personally have no idea how anyone does business without the internet, but my dad informed me that it is possible with a magical little device called a fax machine. My dad rocks the fax machine.

I knew my dad was in trouble when I sent him his first email and he never replied. When I called him to investigate, he told me that he never checks his email. Um, OK.
"What if a client emails you?" I asked.
"Then they'll call me. Just like you did."

Ouch. I would not want to be one of my dad's customers. I think some of his customers didn't want to be his customers either, because a few weeks later, my dad was checking his emails.
But instead of replying to an email, my dad just called. Not really the point. But it was better than the alternative.

I tried again to send dad an email, and this time he replied. It was his first email ever! So exciting. So forward-thinking. So illiterate.

It seems my dad had not yet learned to master the space bar. Yes, mydadhadnotmasteredthespacebar.

His entire message was written without spaces. And it all appeared in the subject line.

Had I known about 108-year-old Olive Riley sooner, I would have shipped my dad out to Australia for senior computer camp. But he probably would have been intimidated by her wheelchair. It was electronic.