Silver Surfer

A " Silver Surfer " is a person over that certain age when their hair becomes silver and yet surprise surprise they still have enough marbles in order to surf the internet.

It might be a "nick name" a derogatory term but in my case its true, twice over!

Being called a Silver Surfer is no put down, not only , because my hair, after many years of hennaing, dying, cutting, preening, curling, straightening and tending, is at last like my grand mothers ,100 % naturally delightfully silver !But also because my family or surname is Silver.

The other afternoon, as I was dozing off for my really indulgent but often required, afternoon nap, there was a knock on my door, ( not an unusual occurrence, I counted eight visitors who were "just passing " the same day alone !)

My neighbors sixteen year old daughter arrived panic struck holding her Bagrut (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bagrut ) English project all about the history and the influences of the internet.

This bright and inquisitive young woman listed (in English) over a cup of tea (statutory when you visit my home !) all the ways people use the internet.

Afterwards while we researched the history, she became wide eyed with disbelieve. For her a world without this tool of communication, entertainment, research, and most importantly chat was completely & utterly untenable.

She couldn't comprehend that just before she was born, the internet as we know it today did not exist. When she left shaking her head, also mind boggled at the thought of world without Google, Facebook and You Tube, I thought about all the ways that the internet has enhanced my life.

I thank God daily that I was born in an age of instant communication.

I wake up most mornings to find a new "Mr Yummy "photo or video posted on my Facebook wall, so I can keep abreast of all his major developmental milestones.

Via Skype I speak regularly to my mother in the the south of England, my cousins, family and friends spread out all over the world.

Within seconds news flashes on screens all over the universe, friends and family share each other joys and sorrows.

Separation from ones nearest family is no picnic. However when I feel a wallowing wave of loneliness come over me,I try and imagine how my great great grand mother felt, when she sent my then teen aged, great grandfather all the way to the UK from white Russia, in order to escape the long arm of the Russian army.

In those days there were no clear lines of communication, a letter, a prized possession could take over three months to be delivered. Photo's were rare, so when in those troubled times, a parent said goodbye to their children, they were unsure they would every hear from them, let alone see them again.

I am not as brave or as self sacrificing as my great great grandmother, however I hope I have Inherited her incredible faith and inner strength.

Like all the other divided families I know, my separation is daily cushioned by the father of the internet, TimBernersLee http://inventors.about.com/od/bstartinventors/p/TimBernersLee.htm(who is actually a British man , four years younger than I)

Enhanced by Mark Zuckerberg the founder of Facebook http://www.facebook.com/http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mark_Zuckerberg

and made 100% tolerable by Janus Friis who's entrepreneurial spirit brought SKYPE http://www.skype.com/ -to the world therefore uniting so many erstwhile separated loved ones.

Separation is always difficult, even the with knowledge that your children are alive and well and happy and prospering. But I am blessed that I don't live in "Anatevka" http://www.answerbag.com/q_view/352953 and that I have the added comfort of modern day technology to boost my daily dose of parental & "Safta reassurance" therefor potentially allowing me to have the deep seated faith of my incredibly fearless paternal great great grandmother .