Apr 28, 2007 5 min read

This week, I once again harnessed the amazing power of the Internet to try to find a lost relative of mine — a person I’ve not seen or heard from in more than 30 years. The person in question is my oldest male cousin in England, whose name is Joe. Without the Internet and the help of some very special and kind people at an English newspaper, I wouldn’t even have known where to start by using conventional means.

It began last weekend, as I was looking online after an especially strong bout of nostalgia directed at my former homeland.

As none of us are getting any younger, I decided to try to enlist some help from “across the pond” in trying to locate some of my very few remaining English relatives. I went to the Web site of the newspaper in the town that I last remember my cousin living in at a href=”http://www.prestoncitizen.co.uk/news/ http://www.prestoncitizen.co.uk/news/ end

and I decided to try using the e-mail address of the editor there to see if they could help me locate him.

I was reluctant to get my hopes up, but I received a prompt reply from the editor, assuring me that they would help in any way they could. Then came another e-mail, asking for more details and asking if I had any pictures of me with my cousin and a recent pic of me.

That night, after I finished teaching guitar at Micarelli’s, I scanned a photo of myself as a very young child, along with my cousin and my late English grandma, Chrissie.

My wife also snapped a few quick pictures of me with our digital camera, which I quickly transferred to the computer, as well.

I then attached both pics to an e-mail and sent them to the reporter in charge of helping me.

The next day, I awoke to find a really nice reply, telling me that the photos were perfect and asking a few more details. The reporter also informed me that they would run an article not only in the local paper, but also on their Web site, in order to help me.

I was touched beyond words to learn this.

It also cheered me up because that was the morning my wife and I were off to Ruby Hospital in Morgantown for my six-month checkup to make sure my leukemia was still in remission. I was later happy to find out that it is.

But the scope of how far the English newspeople went to try to help has just amazed me and I’ll hopefully be reporting to our readers soon that I’ve found my long-lost cousin, or at least know something more about his last 30 years.

It’s acts of kindness like this that restore your faith in human nature. You don’t see it too often any more.

If you were thinking, after reading the above about transferring and scanning pictures and attaching them, your comment probably was, “Yes, but he must know this and that, and I could never do that” — and you’d be wrong.

The only real advantage I’d say I have is that I own and use an Apple computer. It’s sad to say, but the Apple is so easy and simple to use that any 57- year-old (or older) can easily do things that would require a massively steeper learning curve on “the other platform.” It’s a shame that the usually cheaper street price of a Windows computer usually dictates which kind people buy.

Are all computers created equal? In my opinion, it’s a resounding “No!” If you’ve seen any of the new (and slightly sarcastic) Apple ads poking fun at Windows — and if you’ve ever owned a Mac — you’ll know the commercials are actually based in fact. A recent comment I heard was that “a Mac is just so different to use” is quite right.

It’s easier – way easier.

It also comes loaded with all kinds of innovative and super-simple programs that you can use to listen to or make music or make and edit video.

Since so many of you are out there are taking video of family events and using camcorders and digital cameras, we’re going to let Doren show you just how easy it is to edit footage plus add some slick effects via iMovie on a Mac on our next television show.

It’s also almost time to draw the lucky winner of a copy of Windows Vista from the entries we’ve received for this month’s contest.

Many thanks to our buddy and Microsoft guru, Jeff Morris, for providing us with not only lots of info about Vista, but also the give-away copy.

Remember, you still have a bit of time to watch the show and enter our contest.

Until next time, happy surfing.