Thursday, November 10, 2005

Seniors Blogging in the News

Congratulations to Journaler Ray White, more famously known as Dad of Dad's Tomato Garden Journal, who was one of the featured bloggers in an AP story about senior citizens blogging.

The story's been picked up by a lot of news outlets. Here's the ending quote of the story:
"In
the two years since 92-year-old Ray White started Dad's Tomato Garden
Journal, the blog has been viewed more than 45,000 times. Some of those
who click on the site are regular readers who know they can rely on
White six days a week.

White's daughter, Mary White, said the
blog keeps her father interested in life. When his computer is broken,
''he's just like a different person,'' she said. ''He's sad.''

The blog connects Ray White with friends he's never met in England, Portugal, Germany, Canada and all 50 states, he said.

He's continually surprised by the response.

''You'd
be surprised how many questions I get during the tomato season,'' he
said. ''There's always somebody having a problem. I try to answer all
those questions.

''It's just like one big family.''"
A
lot of the focus on the blog world has been on how the younger
generation, especially kids who've grown up with the Web and Instant
Messaging, have taken to the blogs.

This story and all the
people represented within it are reminders that blogging can be
fruitful for everyone. And of course, it shows that old dogs can learn new tricks. 

Thanks. -- Joe 

7 comments:

Anonymous said...

Dad Rocks!  Good for him.

~~ jennifer

Anonymous said...

How cute is that!!!!!!

Anonymous said...

I'm a little disappointed that the article doesn't mention VIVI nominee Chuck Ferris of Dribble by Chuck Ferris.
http://journals.aol.com/chasferris/DribblebyChuckFerris/

Then again, he's "only" in his eighties!

Karen

Anonymous said...

hugs  Joe
nat

Anonymous said...

ooo "old dog!" "Yuppies" or is it "Yeppies" may have enjoyed your choice of metaphors.

Anonymous said...

You can never be down as long a dad is around. But you better bring a smile with you! Oh and Joe? Oh and Joe? I am still...I am still...getting double...getting double...comments comments.Thanks. Thanks.

Anonymous said...

I almost pushed for this with Bob last Tuesday.. but it might work better coming from you, instead of some crazy blogger who might be a drug user.

Anywho... my sources tell me that Dad is working on a junk computer. He gets booted all the time, and- although I'd trust your eye a lot more than mine in this situation- he looks like he's rocking a 1994 Tandy.

AOL must have a few computers lying around, and they afford to ship one out. They should hook the man up... and I'm not being sentimental, either.

This guy is like a One Man Riot. He's all over the Internet. He has a Blog Worth of like $60,000. He gets AOL the lead page of whatever Senior section is in the newspaper he's being featured in. He's a am-bassador to a very hard-to-get-to-use-a-computer-in-the-first-place demographic. It also looks good for the A to the Izzy.

If you flew my shady ass to Houston, you should hook this guy up pronto. He's already paid for it with the free advertising on that AP piece, and this is  not a man that we need to be getting cheap on.

I can do it myself, but that involves stalking out his real address... which brings "my people" into the equation. First off... Dad is too honest a man to be using the stolen computer he'd get if "my people" become involved any further than here at the Generation Of The Idea.

Dad is too also too nice of a guy to be having one of my former thug students- or one of my biker friends (I know of no one else who will drive halfway across America for $200 and an ounce of weed)- showing up at his doorstep when he/they finally locates the Tennessee White House.... which would no doubt be at like 2:30 in the morning, on a Harley-Davidson.

That kind of shock might kill even a younger man- which reminds me... you might want to hurry this one along, if you know what I'm saying. Dad's not getting any ounger-yay.