Category: October 2010

My mother just got her first cell phone. It doesn’t take pictures or play music — it just makes phone calls. It took her a while to get used to the idea — she would talk into the wrong end of the phone in the beginning. But she’s got the technology figured out and now she can call me any time. ANY TIME. But I’m glad about that.

Sometimes, we forget that technology is just a tool. If it gets in the way of what we’re trying to accomplish — communication, for example — then it’s no longer a tool. It becomes a *&$*/% waste of time and money.

The Elderhood Project will use whatever technology we have available to get important information to our kupuna and their caregivers. We broadcast our reports on television and put them on the internet. Now, Generations Magazine gives us another avenue to spread the word. We are grateful.

When our newsroom first started using computers some years back, a reporter friend of mine quit, saying he would never type his stories on “one of those things.” He is still working, of course, in another field. And using computers every day. Never say never. We are thrilled to be a part of Generations Magazine. It’s portable and doesn’t need batteries.

In the past month on the Elderhood Project, which airs on KHON2 every Thursday morning on the morning news and Thursday afternoon at the 5 p.m. segment, we have covered subjects such as cataract awareness with Dr. Jorge Camara, palliative care (dealing with pain), homeless seniors and tips on how to avoid medicare identity theft. Much more in the weeks ahead.

Gotta go. Mom’s on the phone.