Believe it or not - blogging at 107

In my post Senior Citizens, blogging is a passport to good health I mentioned about the 95 year old Spanish great-grandmother Maria Amelia Lopez who is a big hit in the blogosphere. Well, yesterday GV Krishnan has come out with an interesting article World’s eldest YouTuber? According to it an Australian great-great grandmother, Olive Riley at 107, is likely to be the world’s oldest blogger and You Tuber.

I visited Olive’s site. It’s delightful. How would you like to read about a horse who was a regular visitor to the local pub? Or the poignant piece about a girl running into a boy from her school days decades later in a ‘what could have been but was not to be’ story?

I’m giving below the Links relating to Olive, which Eric Shackle, 88, who is on a mission to convert elders to the computer, has been kind enough to provide:
Olive’s blog http://www.allaboutolive.com.au/
Olive’sYouTube http://www.allaboutolive.com.au/
Mike Rubbo, film maker (Olive’s helper) http://www.mikerubbo.com/
World’s favourite grandma ftp://ftp.bdb.co.za/olive_riley.pdf

And read Eric’s ‘Life Begins at 80’ at http://bdb.co.za/shackle

Coming to India, MYSORE BLOG PARK carries a post by a Mumbai based 75 year old lady, Anandi, who took up blogging just a month back. I’ve marked it to read later.

But one of the few blogs that I have bookmarked is Memories and Musings
http://memories-and-musings.blogspot.com/ by Maiji, a Chennai based great-grandmother, 79, (may be 80 now) who has been blogging since May, 2006. It is a site where the scenes shift from Trivandrum to Delhi to Chennai - people, places, events, so much of history.

Please read the comments on Senior Citizens, blogging is a passport to good health carefully. They are interesting and illuminating. The case of my good friend Jacob Matthan is inspiring. He is only about 65. The recovery of parts of his brain, which had been affected by excessive alcohol consumption, was helped considerably by his blogging through which he was able to establish contact with his old friends and slowly rebuild his links with the past. He has been a teetotaler for 25 years now.

I am quoting here a part of the comment by Ronni Bennetty, ‘As we get older, our social circles shrink. After retirement, we don't have the daily camaraderie of work colleagues. Families may live far away. Old friends die. And perhaps in time, it is not so easy to get out and about as we once did.

’Real friendships form among bloggers, as strong over time as in-person friendships. And with blogging, one's new friends might be anywhere in the world.’ There is more.

Start blogging, it’s good for you.

Ends.

Also see: Senior Citizens, blogging is a passport to good health

Senior Citizens, blogging is a passport to good health

After reading You're never too old to blog. by GV Krishnan last month, I decided to write about my blogging experience. Actually it was a suggestion by GVK. I am going on 74 and have been actively blogging for seven months. That I thought was sufficient credential. I made the notes for the post, but put off the writing. Now I am preempted by The Hindu (September 2) which carried a Guardian Newspapers article ‘Senior blogger is a hit’.

The blogger is a Spaniard, Maria Amelia Lopez. Can you guess her age? Ninety-five! In the eight months that she has been blogging, her site has had over 340,000 hits from all over the world. This is something that only very few among the 93 million or so bloggers can hope for. Ms. Lopez, a great-grandmother, is an international celebrity today.

In his article GVK also referred to a piece by Hariharan Balakrishnan published by The Hindu. It is about a younger man, Eric Shackle who is only 88, who exhorts elders to shed the fear of the computer. He has published a web-book, Life Begins at 80.

Duly humbled by these inspiring stories let me narrate mine in all humility. I started using a computer as a glorified typewriter about seven years back, when I was 67. Initially the basics were explained to me. Along the way I picked up the more complicated operations on my own. It is an ongoing process of learning. Yesterday someone demonstrated the several uses of the computer ‘brush’. Just throw computer phobia out of the window. Once you start using a computer, you would love it.

Now about blogging. My inspiration was Jacob's Blog a successful one by Jacob Matthan a good friend from Bangalore days. I made a mistake though – registered four blogs! Can’t do justice to all of them. By God’s grace, this one has been reasonably successful.

Now, the reasons why senior citizens should start blogging. Keeping the mind and body active is your passport to good health. Blogging is a great mental exercise that is likely to help prevent/delay Alzheimer’s Disease (AD).

Another point is that elders would have so much of experience and memories that would be useful and interesting to others. Unless recorded, they would be lost forever. Blogging also enhances one’s self-esteem.

One can almost hear the protest, ‘But I can’t write’. You can, if you want. As you go along, the writing would improve. Use simple words, short, uncomplicated sentences, and go about it in a conversational manner. Write about anything that you wish.

Creating a blog is very simple and free – click on ‘Create Blog’ label on the top right hand corner of this page. Just follow the instructions.

Come on, get on to the bandwagon.

Ends.

Also see:

Old age care

Old age care contd.