Ride the Wave

The Badger Trail at Purcell Rd. 10/22/23

 AOL (America On Line) delivered the electronic mail starting in 1997.  That may have been the sign for most of us in the United States that whatever the internet was, it was going to be part of our lives.

 We had an AOL account which we accessed through our Gateway computer that sat in the kitchen.  It was connected to the phone line for a few minutes we spent fetching our messages a couple times a day.  I think our account came along around the time AOL did.

 Today is National Internet Day, recognizing the first step into the online world made by Charlie Kline and Bill Duvall at Stanford when they successfully sent a one-word message October 29, 1969, "login."

It would take a few years before I started reading stories posted online by the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel.

One of my strong memories I have was taking notes during Green Bay Packer games to send a summary of each game to my sister, who was serving as an E-S-L (English as a Second Language) teacher in Kazakhstan.

I'd take notes of each possession (this was before box scores were online during or after the games) then after the game, sent a message with highlights and news of the Packer's win or loss.  In the late 1990s, the Packers won frequently, so most emails brought good news across six time zones.

She's spent quite a few of the years since in various outposts around the world.  I don't send Packer summaries anymore but email and internet connections continue to keep us connected.

All of which is handy on a day like today, Happy Birthday, Danielle!"