The Internet Age
Tony turned 60 in May. We had online family Zoom parties with lots of yummies displayed from NYC, St. Croix, San Francisco, RI, Houston and NC. Not where we expected to be but still very glad to celebrate online. It is today’s time travel! We span the earth in these phone calls with 5-9 hour time differences between the different households!
This Spring, we began participating in an online network of worldwide projects that need helpers. (www.workaway.info) In exchange for room and board, we provide our skills / experience to projects of our choice. We could not have easily experienced family life and immersive travel of this type in the pre-internet days. In the NL, we helped with the final stages of renovating an old farmstead that created their family home, a 4 bedroom Holiday House and the B & B for 2, where we were able to stay due to the corona virus shut downs. It’s a very nice rural location near a fairly large city, Zwolle. (www.hetwijdeland.nl) The current tourist rules favor this style of “stay-cationing”. All their bookings are made online and guests can come and go with “safe social distancing”.
I am playing Mah Jongg online on Sundays (www.myjongg.net) with a group of friends and the biggest problem is sorting out a convenient time to play due to the 5-6 hour time difference!
The world is inter-connected instantly thanks to the internet. It is an impressive impact that changes our everyday lives. At 60, we are able to make dreams come true that would not have been at our fingertips 30 years ago.
The Dutch have a very useful saying: Heb Lief Similar to “Live Laugh Love” or “Be kind. Be positive. Be compassionate.” Many buildings have these banners flying – defying the stressors and restrictions of the pandemic. Reminders that we are all in this together.
“Dare to live the life you have dreamed for yourself. Go forward and make your dreams come true.”
Ralph Waldo Emerson
Read on time travelers!