A Revived Sense of Wonder
I remember helping my mother at her office at NIH thread punch cards on metal stalks - hundreds of them at a time - no way did I think this drudgery might eventually lead to the instantaneous multisensory experience of today.
Being invited to add to the collaborative poetic reflection on the wonders of the web and its evolution rekindled the excitement I felt when AOL first announced I had mail. Recalling the following vignettes reminded me how quirkily rich the web has made my life
In 1994, my 7 year old son got the email address of a Hopi elder in New Mexico, sent her a message asking her to call him – which she did, not collect, and they talked for more than an hour. His 4th grade teacher was blown away when he turned in a complete guide to Hopi homeopathy for his social studies project.In 2008, I built the internet when I downloaded a speaking Chinese phrase book to my cellphone and used it to speak (literally – it did the talking) to taxicab drivers in Beijing. In 2009, my deeply depressed dog was brought out of his gloom by the sight and sound on Skype of my husband in Austria. Today, I spend more time talking with my sons in China than I did when they were in college in the US – thanks to G-chat.
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