"The Old Man and the See" - Commentary by Tony Seton

The Old Man and the See

There are still some people out there with the resources -- financial and intellectual -- to be who aren’t yet on-line. Like my father, who’s pushing 81, and probably thinks the learning curve is too great for the time he might have left. Or else it’s just his patent intransigence refined over eight decades.

I’ve made all of the obvious arguments to him about the wonders of the Internet, especially ‘cause he’s an intellectual and he travels and he doesn’t like to go out shopping. Plus he’s got children and grandchildren who live thousands of miles away.

What brings this rant to the surface, again, are four items received over the e-transom today. One was comment by my sister Jennifer on the election. She said, "What a downer that was. Oh well, we won the first civil war. Maybe we'll win the third."

A second came from a person I don’t know responding to my "Neener, Neener...." commentary who took issue with my characterization of Bush supporters, I think questioning my love of my country. He quoted Mark Twain: "In the beginning of a change, the Patriot is a scarce man, Brave, Hated, and Scorned. When his cause succeeds however, the timid join him, For then it costs nothing to be a Patriot."

A third was from Word-A-Day, a free newsletter that expands one’s mind with definitions and quotes. Today’s offering from the great Indian poet, Rabindranath Tagore, who said, "Trees are the earth's endless effort to speak to the listening heaven."

And finally, this from Ted Pease, who sends out a daily word on journalism. In this case, a quote from Goethe, who reminds all of us who practice wordsmithery that "One ought, every day at least, to hear a little song, read a good poem, see a fine picture and, if were possible, speak a few reasonable words."

Come on, Dad, get with it. There’s so much good stuff out there. And I could save on the postage.

And that’s SetonnoteS...I’m Tony Seton.