Saturday, January 19, 2008

BEFORE GOOGLE!

Who was the actress that played Jane in the Tarzan movies with Johnny Weissmuller? Who was the 22nd president of the United States? When was the Hindenburg disaster?

If you're like me and questions like these come up, you just "Google" the answer. Am I right? The day of looking it up in the encyclopedia appears to be over! Isn't it amazing how fast we've all come to rely on search engines? There is nothing we can't find the answer to by utilizing our favorite search engine.

But what did you do BEFORE GOOGLE? Well, for me and my family, we called our Mother. She was our Google, I guess she was our Moogle! An avid reader and movie LOVER, she picked up information here and there and it stayed with her. A couple of her favorite past times were playing games and crossword puzzles; both of which refined the knowledge she already had. My sister, Pippa, and I were talking about how we would call her when we were stuck on an answer. My sister said even her friends would say, Call Your Mother! I remember in 1978 a woman I worked with was telling me about an old movie she had watched on television the night before and I said, Oh, I saw that too. This friend told me she thought the actress was so-n-so; I said no, that's not it, it's....well, I just couldn't remember. It was killing me trying to remember that actress's name, (has that ever happened to you, isn't it annoying?) and I finally called my Mother. Mom, remember this movie about blah-blah, and before I could say another word Mother says, oh, the one with Eleanor Parker? YES, THAT'S HER! To THIS day I haven't forgotten that actress's name.

Mom, how many president's died in office? Mom, when did Elizabeth become queen? When did Henry Ford make his first car? Okay, yes, maybe we should have known some of this stuff, but it was just easier to pick up the phone and call Mother.

Just like with Google, it's easier to type in the question and "google" the answer! I'm right, right?! SO, what did YOU do before Google?

By the way, the answers to the first three questions at the top: Maureen O'Sullivan (Mia Farrow's mother); Grover Cleveland; and May 6, 1937...I had to GOOGLE that last one!