The Purpose

So I'm sitting here passing the time chatting online with people I've never met but who, like me, comment on a blog I read regularly.

The comment thread we were using as a chat room features teeny tiny little user icons and a lot of times it's hard to tell what they are, so I asked one of the others (he happens to be in North Carolina) what his was.

He told me (it was a goat), and linked to a blog post featuring the uncropped original photograph, which was a picture of his own father as a child, 80 years ago. The post also spoke about what the world was like back then, which made me think of my grandfather.

I have a couple of "my grandpa was old" stories, and picked one to tell:

Your comments about your dad (at the link) make me think of my grandfather. He was born in 1890 and lived to the age of 104.

He was one of the first people to make a long-distance telephone call (he knew the demonstrator at the science booth at a world's fair way back when).

And assorted other tales.

Less than 10 minutes later, someone else in the conversation (from Spain) had this to say:

Jennifer, My Grandmother was born in 1884 and she was a telephone switchboard operator (Anyone here got any idea what that was?) when she married my Granddad in 1905 and it might have been her who placed your Granddads long distance call as she worked as a demo. switchboard op. at the 1904 St. Louis World Fair.

You guys? I'm pretty sure this is what the Internet is for.