Hey Mel - I have TWO of those language translation programs and here they are in case others might like to have this ability to communicate in many languages:

http://babelfish.altavista.com/babelfish/tr and
http://www.worldlingo.com/en/product...ranslator.html

These programs are really cool and both are FREE! I don't use them very much but they are nice to have on hand.

Dan:

Danke Dan, wie nett von Ihnen zu schreiben und informieren Sie mich über diesen Übersetzungsdienst. Haben Sie einen guten Tag. Auf Wiedersehen


lol, Mel

Melody--you are the life of our forum!!!!! I do have a webcam and I do enjoy my grandkids on it. My parents, however, live in the iceage and absolutely will not have one of those "troublemakers" in their home! You must understand, the computer corrupted me! I mean, I am 52 and I have only had a computer for probably 7 yrs, but it did corrupt me in that time--I guess I was a good person before that. Health wise, I have gotten more info from the internet, years and years of doctors have failed me, and yet, she tells me I can't believe a thing I read on the internet. SO, she will not have a computer in the house. Family get-togethers are at their home, usually.

You are right about the webcam though. Grandkids are a joy on webcams. My granddaughter Harley is 3, 4 in Feb. She will get as close as she can get, her round face will be the entire webcam screen and she will say, "Grandma Deb, you can't see me!" Then she will giggle and say, "Grandma, you live up north!" My son Nick also has a webcam, so I do talk with my grandkids Brooklyn and Colin online too. Brooklyn told me online, with the webcam about the new grandbaby we will be having in April. How great is that, having a grandchild tell you about the arrival of their little brother or sister? She is so excited. You are right, technology is a wonderful thing.

Sometimes, I just have pity party moments. Grandma's have those "need grandbaby hug" minutes. I had set a standard for myself all those years while raising my kids and I told me I would always be there for my grandkids and I'm not--it's hard for me to deal with. You are right though, I'm doing good for me right now and with technology, I can have as close to the best of both worlds as I can get. Thank you.

By the way, this is Harley, in the pic with me!

Deb

Dan,
Thanks. I'd been looking for a colloquial phrase translator
and not just a word translation dictionary. Conjugation of
verbs has always been my downfall.
Especially 'to be' (and many others).
Both of these, are just what I'd been hoping to find.
Thanks again.

Hi Deb:

How lucky you are to be blessed with grandchildren. I can only imagine how people did it more than 20 years ago, with family members living out of state and only have the landline phone to communicate with. Did you just read what I wrote?? LANDLINE PHONE. Never in all my life would I have thought I would refer to a regular telephone as a LANDLINE PHONE.

I'm getting very techy aren't I??

And what do you mean the computer corrupted you?? I know that many young people, when go on the computer, well, they get addicted. It's very tempting, and with all the instant messaging and various ways to communicate over the net, and especially if parents don't know anything about the computer, well, parents really don't know what's going on under their noses do they?

We had a kid next door who was 11. They got him a computer. He's a genius by the way. He kept telling his father to buy him ink cartridges because they would run out. I went into his room and there was all porn on the wall. He was 11. Can you imagine?? I looked at him and I said 'Anthony, what the heck are you doing, what would your folks think if they came in and saw what you have on your walls"?? He had no mom, and a dad who was never there and he was raised by a great grandma who was 80 and wouldn't know a computer from a nintendo game. When the father came home, I told him what his son was doing and he shrugged and said "well, I drove my parents nuts, and obviously he takes after me."

I just looked at him and said 'Unplug that computer, or put parental controls on it". He said 'what is parental controls".?? So forget about that house!!!

Oh, you might want to ask where Anthony is today?? He's in jail. Pulled a knife on 7 people in a robbery. He's 18, and returns home soon. So he's served time, has a record, and will go right back on the computer, that I guarantee. It's all about keeping kids quiet and if a parent doesn't know anything about computers, well the kids will rule that house.

I'm extremely happy that you get to see your grandchildren and how nice that there's a new baby on the way. How fun to see them on the webcam, right?? When Alan and I make videos, I now put them up on google. Can't do the youtube thing yet, it won't take my upload. I'm learning how to do this.

I never thought that I could learn stuff at my age, but actually I'm a lot smarter at 60 than I ever was at 25. I just apply it better. More maturity I guess.

So you keep enjoying your webcam.

And as far as your parents go, here's my take on this. Since you are 52, your mom and dad have to over the age of 72. They probably have everything in it's place in their home, they probably have the silverware in a particular drawer and if anyone changed that drawer, it would drive them crazy. They probably don't use cell -phones because they probably think "well, I have a regular phone, it's good enough".

The problem with this kind of thinking (and this is only my opinion), is that people who are very rigid and won't change for any reasons, well, they end up depending on everybody else because they never put into place, resources in which they could drawn upon. They are of a certain age and they tell themselves, "well, I can do this for myself now, and when I'm not able, my kids will do this for me". I see this all the time.

The trouble is, it's now 2007, and kids don't think like this any more. Kids are not "THERE' for their parents. And I'm not even using my own son as an example. I using everyone else I know. Everybody my age has children in their 30's and the kids have gone their own way and do not even call or check up on their parents. The parents walk around with this look as if to say "what do I do now?" What do I say when they ask me this question??

I respond: "go to your nearest senior citizen's center, join groups, go for a walk, do not stay in the house, do not sit on your porch waiting for people to come. Because they don't come. Don't expect anything, and if someone drops by, it's a bonus" People today have to be more pro-active in theiir own health concerns. They can't just sit and vegetate. No one will accomplish anything using this way of thinking. God gave us brains, and we have to apply them, I don't care how old we are.

I mean, I have a pair of 80 year olds who live underneath me and the husband uses the computer. He'll be doing this till he's 100. He's using his brain cells.

So you keep conversing with your grandchildren. Maybe some day, when you are all at your parent's house, someone will open up a laptop, and your parents will see their grandkids and they will go: "oh my goodness, look how big she got". Then there's the perfect time to say "you can see her grow up every day". Takes a bit of prompting but sometimes, miracles do happen.

Hey, if my 83 year old uncle can go on the computer, anybody can!!!

It's all about stepping out of one's comfort zone. It's hard to do over a certain age. I'm still stepping. lol

Melody

Susan my heart goes out to you and daughter and son, the whole family.
How many other people who post here,all posts are waiting here for
there love ones. Could any of you tell us about you son's,daughter,
and husbands,and mothers. Tell us about you and the family mombers
who stay home and kept,the home fires going..
I remember how hard it was went my brother was oversea's,he made it
home,but it was a very hard time,,Bless all of you
Sue

Thank you, Billye and Melody, for your prayers for my son. We do get emails from him about once a week, but you are right, Melody, a web cam would have been a good investment. If he ever has to be deployed to Iraq again, I will give us both one. but hopefully it won't happen. I was thinking (after reading your email) that I should get us one for the next time he goes to sea, but then I remembered that he has to use a special ship computer then, for security reasons, instead of his laptop; so that probably wouldn't work. But, he may get stationed far away again, so I am definitely going to keep it in mind.

Your story about your Italian neighbors is priceless! Melody, your special talent is obviously communication -- of all types!

Thank you, Shiney Sue! I was raised in a military family, and have other family members who have been in the military, so I am sort of used to the idea and that helps. I am so proud of my son, too. He had a rough, rebellious adolescence and could have taken a wrong turn, but he really "wised up" and started applying himself when he was about 18 or 19 and graduated from college with good grades. Now he is a Lt. in the Navy, an aviator, and is doing extrememly well in his career - he really loves his country and he studies very hard so that he can do an excellent job. So may of these young people are devoted like this. I sat next to a young enlisted woman on a plane one time and it was heartwarming hearing her talk about how seriously she took her job of washing planes on board an aircraft carrier. Sure enough, she had spotted an oil leak while doing so and reported it and saved the ship's crew, as the engine would have stopped mid-air. Not many in a civilian job that mundane would take their responsibility so seriously. They are a bunch of brave, great kids. I know that it means a lot to them when people pray for them and appreciate them, whatever their political views on the war are. It means a lot to us moms. too!

Melody--Ummmm you pegged them, she is 71, he is 72! BUT, they do have a cellphone, amazing huh? My sister got them a boost phone and my dad actually learned to use it, he also realized that if he didn't use all of his minutes up by the end of a certain amount of time, he lost them, so when the time gets close, he uses it for long distance and uses the minutes. My mom uses a walker now and WILL NOT use a wheelchair in a store, so he leaves her at my aunts and he gets the groceries, if he can't find something, he will call her on the cellphone!

Ummmmmmm Don't mess with my silverware drawer, I am much more of a neat freak then they are! Everything has a place and it better be there for me or I am totally lost!

It did take them forever to get a VCR, then my dad loved it, and has the biggest collection of John Wayne movies ever, now they even have a DVD player. Remote controls were out of the question for awhile too, but he loves that now too. A cordless phone was something no one needed for years and the one they have is probably 10 yrs old! Yet, they were one of the first people to get a microwave oven, I remember having one when I was in high school, an Amana Radarange!

You pegged them, for sure!!!

Deb

Deb:

I must tell you about my Aunt Sally. She finally got a VCR about 10 years ago. Only she had no idea what it could do. I kid you not.

I was on the phone with her and I was all excited that she finally got a vcr and she said "oh, I tape the View every night". I said "every night, why every night, it's on 11 a.m. here in NY." Well, it seemed that they showed the View (in Florida), at 3 a.m. So guess what my Aunt Sally was doing??? Getting up at 2:55 and pressing the record button!!!

I just stared at my phone not knowing what to say. I finally swallowed and said "Aunt Sally, do you know what a VCR is??" and said 'sure, it tapes programs." and I said 'you program it to turn itself on, and tape the show, and it will shut itself off". I hear a big quiet on the other end and she goes "IT DOES WHAT!!!?? You mean, I don't have to get up at 2:55 in the morning. I said "no Aunt Sally", I'll write you all the instructions and mail them to you.

Then she asks me "Melody, when I tape the view, do I have to rewind it to watch it".?? I said 'well, if you tape something, how else can you watch it if you don't rewind it to the beginning of the tape, ....you do put in a blank tape, right?" And she said 'yes I have one tape". I said 'I have 32 tapes, how can you only have one tape"?? She said 'well, I only tape Channel 7.

Then she said "oh I can't talk to you anymore, All my Children is coming up and I have to watch it". I said "why don't you tape it?" and she said "I can do that".??? Ever want to take a phone and bang someone with it. I never laughed so hard in all my life.

But the best, and I mean the best conversation is when I arranged for her to get one of those TTY machines for the deaf. She has always been hard of hearing but then she lost it completely and I finally convinced her that in order for her and her family to continue to communicate she would have to get one of those machines. It was free (in her state, and from her phone company, at the time). So it finally arrives, they hook it up for her, and the whole thing is when you are at her end, she is not supposed to try and hear, she is supposed to read what is on the machine, then she can respond by speaking in the phone. So essentially, she reads what I am saying, and she can talk back to me. Yeah, right. Not my Aunt Sally.

This was the conversation.

Hello Aunt Sally, it's Melody....(she is supposed to be reading).

She goes "He died??" I said "who died, somebody died??"

She goes "he died?? really, when did he die???" I said "I didn't say anybody died, stop trying to listen and read the machine".

She goes "wait, wait, I'm reading. You are saying (and she reads word for word what I'm saying)..

She goes: Nobody died???

I say: Good Grief, nobody died Sally, stop trying to listen, and read the machine".

Forget it!!!! I wrote down this whole conversation and emailed it to her son, he and his wife laughed so hard, he fell off the computer chair.

They finally got my Aunt Sally a special hearing aid. Thank God.

lol