Ode to the Internet

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“My goal is to leave my house as little as possible,” my sister said. “Is it possible to get Meals-on-Wheels if you are able-bodied?” she wondered.

“Yes. Yes it is. It’s called “Peapod,” I reminded her.

Oh how I love the Internet. I may not be as tech-savvy as my children, but I have mastered how to use the computer to make my life easier. Shlep around from store to store looking for appropriate dress shoes for an eleven-year-old girl? Fuggedaboudit…shop on Zappos. Can’t find a specific, coveted grocery item in your neighborhood stores? The odds are great that Amazon has it and then some.

Being Jewish, at Christmas time I contract a case of serious mall-phobia. This year, I was able to get around this shopping moratorium by perusing the stores from the comfort of my home. Packages arrived on my doorstep – what could be better? When I burn out on my same old recipes, I just turn to trusted Auntie Internet – she always has something new to offer. Music, television, books, magazines, podcasts – the waiting room at your doctor’s office has never been so exciting.

Sure, the amount of time people spend on the internet can be annoying. We should all look up, engage, be present – all things I say to my teenagers. But when the Internet is used appropriately, it is awesome. My kids and their cousins recently discovered a game on the Internet – Trivia Crack. It’s Trivial Pursuit, revisited. Instead of ignoring us, they kept running into the room shouting questions at us —who was the President when the atomic bomb was dropped? Which of these artists were Impressionists? It struck me as good, not evil, because while everyone can play on their own devices, it encourages collaboration (okay – cheating) and good old healthy competition.

Recently my husband turned me on to podcasts. He thought a particular one, “The Moth” would be of interest to me.

“Its people telling stories – you write stories,” he reasoned, “you should check it out.”

I love listening to these stories – it’s kind of like meeting an interesting person at a party. For ten minutes, I’m enraptured with the telling. And sometimes that’s all I’m interested in…I don’t necessarily want to read a book on the subject. I thoroughly enjoy meeting the person and learning something new and/or being entertained for a few moments.

Obviously, the fact that I have the chance to try something new in my middle-age…writing this blog, gives me another reason to love the Internet. I try not to fear new things or be a “granny,” as I affectionately call friends who scoff at technology.

Whether you’re a granny, a shut-in, a Trivia Crack-head, or looking for a place within ten miles to purchase organic rutabaga, there’s something for everyone on the Internet.

I hope you find something on-line (or off-line) that delights you in 2015. From the “staff” at Let Me Tell You Something (okay – me, my husband, and my sister) we wish you all a Happy New Year!