Welcome!

Welcome to the Silverfern Chronicles!

I am blogging because I like to write. I could have been blogging a few years ago, but I am not one who falls into this computer-Internet-New Age stuff without a little trepidation.

I figure a lot of you are out there are my age, and have now come to the realization that this computer fad just might stick around. And you want to play with it, send messages on it, use it and receive the same unbridled joy and passion your kids and grandkids have expressed.

But you're scared. Or at least, a bit hesitant. You have it in the back of your mind that one errant keystroke will cause your computer to burn up and set off the smoke alarm. Or the many options available to the online-literate are so dazzling that you do not know where to begin.

I hear you. And I am here to help.

I am not expert myself, so I will speak your language. In case you need help that is beyond my scope of knowledge - shoot, it is a certainty that you will ask questions beyond my scope of knowledge - I will go and find the experts and get back to you.

This blog may even go beyond the world of tech. If you are my age, and you feel like the world is passing you by for a younger, savvier, more brash generation - in my family, they are called "The Cool Kids" and believe me, the title is not one they earn - then we all have felt pushed aside, no longer a generation that could change the world, but a generation condemned to live in it as the next generation holds the wheel.

I am here to say that you are not heard because you are not speaking loud enough. Get your feelings out there! Let the advertisers know that we are important and we do not care to see feminine hygiene products being peddled while the football game is on. Let the employers know we did not just suddenly get stupid when we changed the lead digit on our ages. Let the rest of the world know that we value ourselves, and they had better value us as well - or they will be left wondering why those old folks don't come to my restaurant or shop in my store or stay in my hotel or buy my car.

Case in point - any one use one of those Jitterbug cellular phones? This may be a good product, but for Pete's sake, can the commercial be any more insulting? A phone for old people - we know this because a couple of seniors are dancing to the "Jitterbug" jingle - that is stripped down to the most basic thing a cell phone does, send and receive telephone calls. If the oldies are too dimwitted to handle that, we have a special operator standing by to help you get it done.

Please. We can use a cell phone. If you want to be helpful, how about making the numbers bigger so I don't dial three numbers when I was aiming to hit one?

Anyway, that is where I am hoping to help you out. Bridge the generation gap and make sure no one misses the point - that people past a certain age do not need to be led out onto an ice floe and floated out into the ocean, never to be seen again.

Let's see how we do, OK?