Live After 50

ALICE HORNBAKER

“Life After 50” column

ON AIR wmkvfm.org and

WMKVFM. 89.3 FM/Cincinnati

5-21-12

Hello again. This is Alice Hornbaker for WMKV 89.3 FM and wmkvfm.org streaming around the world in the Internet Mondays and Thursdays at 2:20 p.m. and Fridays at 8:50 a.m. and as a blog on growingbolder.com under blogs/life after 50/ajhornbaker and on Twitter, Facebook and linkedin.com

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As annoying as it may be to some of those who are long in tooth, America’s youth today and into the foreseeable future completely embraces the new frontier-the digital frontier that is.

In a story by Ted Anthony of the Associated Press Sunday, he wrote “American expansionism is playing out vigorously at society’s latest cutting edge: the social space of the Internet.” He wrote the new frontier is being stroked by “entrepreneurial Americans.”

If you are past age 50 perhaps you feel a little left out? You shouldn’t. Every day I see more and more older Americans embracing the digital age in ever increasing numbers. They may not be the hot entrepreneurs but more and more buy what they produce.

Every day I encounter seniors who tell me about their latest digital purchase such as a new digital phone, Ipad or camera. In my retirement community many seniors have wireless computers and hand held Droid phones.

In America’s beginnings young people were urged to go west. Today they are encouraged not to get a college degree, but to invent, design, and buy digital. When a 28-year-old Facebook entrepreneur sells his stock for billions, it says to the rest of America ideas and inventions are alive and well. We seniors no longer have to go west to begin a new life. Today we communicate not by letters but often by Skype to talk to our great grandchildren on our computers.

Personally I applaud the digital age. And while I struggle to understand some new inventions, I will buy a new design in a heartbeat.

For example a hobby of mine is digital photography and creating and making videos for friends and family. A couple of years ago I took all the movies I’d made on old film (film sounds strange doesn’t it?) and create digital discs. Our entire family history became squeezed (and edited) into three DVDs, then given to my adult children and told, “This is your life.” My mother years ago told others I was born with a camera around my neck and my hands on a keyboard.

So it is no surprise to any one who knows me that I embrace the digital frontier. I wish I had a lock on all the future years ahead just to see and applaud the workmanship of future Steve Jobs and Mark Zukerbergs.

On a “60 Minutes” show on CBS Sunday they had one a man who says in effect don’t go to college. He said too many parents of American kids push their kids who have no business or reason for being there. He conceded that some professions such as doctors and scientists need higher education but added, many of today‘s billionaires are college dropouts.

So even at my advanced age I’m excited to participate in the new digital frontier. As one of my grandkids said, ”You go, Grandma!”

--------------------------------------------If you would like to contact me send an email to: ajhornbaker@yahoo.com or leave a message for me at the Cincinnati WMKV studios 782-2427.

For WMKV 89.3 FM this is Alice Hornbaker.

(Order Alice Hornbaker’s new novel about seniors who are hot, and some criminal, and about radio station “WOLD In Cincinnati” available at amazon.com, wmkvfm.org (click Amazon button), iuniverse.com, ebook or any book store)