Once upon a time, there was Margaret who turns 98 today. Yes, you heard me right, she is ninety eight years old and although, she walks a little slow, she is always present at church activities for the elderly. I asked her if se would mind I take her picture, she whispered something to me and posed.

It got me thinking, when you think 98, what comes to mind? How have we evolved?

TV – Back in the days, if you missed a show on TV, mind you back and white, that was it. You would have to wait a few months or even years before you could see Zorro or Sound of Music again.

Today, you have YouTube, yes YouTube and it is just like color TV but on the Internet over your computer. “Internet? Can you please stop joking”. Funny, you can take it anywhere you go. They are “attached” to you on this little tiny square gadget you call, smartphone or tablets. Why they even call it smart, I don’t know but I guess it is because it talks right back at you. Yup, you ask it to take you to the moon and it does just exactly that.

Newspaper – Oh how I loved reading the newspaper. I had my own paper route going from door to door, meeting and greeting the neighbors and making new friends but others preferred to grab it at our local neighborhood store where folks would gather for some cigarette and whiskey.

Today, it is all about the click. Click here, click there, click out there and boom, you have it, papers from all over the world at your disposal.

Call or Telegram – If you want to make a call or send a telegram, the operator was there for you. Ask and you shall receive, where would you like me to place the call to or send your message to, madam?

Well, today we have creme de la creme, the master of it all, Mr Skype. Click, click and I can see you with your bad hair and outfit included. I mean, talk about “someone watching you right now” moment.

Mail – If you wanted to communicate with a friend or family member on another state or country, you had to write a letter or postcard that would sometimes take up to three weeks to arrive at its destination.

Today, you have email. Log in, enter, type and click to send. “Hey John, have you received yet?” “Yes!” Done just like that. I mean you can even conduct business without leaving your home.

“Have you heard it?” “What?! Can you please stop talking. I want to listen to music, can you please pass me the radio?” “Radio or the walkman?” “Wait, do you mean, iPod?” “Huh? iWhat?” “iPod, it plays your digitalized music.” “Can someone, please explain to me what digitalized music?” “Can you please grab my car keys on the table? I got to go put some gas.” “Grandma, you need to put gas in your car. It is electrical”. “Oh no, my utility bills.”

Age is nothing but a number so they say and Margaret has just proven us that. Ninety eight is a journey, four generations, three hundred thousand springs, three million hours, minutes and seconds, a long life of stories. I wish I had time to sit with you and hear all about it but for now, Happy Birthday. Have a beautiful and blessed day!