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Last spring, my husband's mother learned that her only brother was terminally ill. She lived in Arkansas - he in California. My husband's uncle had lost contact with his only daughter and wished to reconnect while he was still well enough to visit with her and convey some necessary information about his business affairs and his final wishes. Had this been even fifteen years ago, it might have been impossible to locate this woman... especially quickly. However, with technology... specifically satellite television, which brought WeTV into our home and a program called "The Locator," we were able to engage the services of an investigator who found this daughter within a matter of about two weeks. Again, technology came into play, aiding the investigator in combing through records and vital statistics via the Internet... and in corresponding with my husband about the results via e-mail. My husband's uncle was reunited with his daughter. Almost two months to the day later, he passed away. Once again, technology made quick work of many tasks. My husband's mother, an avid letter-writer, had handled many tasks in this manner, i.e. "I'll write letters to my sisters in Iowa and let them know what is happening." My husband's gentle suggestion was, "Let's e-mail your niece in Iowa and she can tell her mom and aunt." Correspondence with a funeral home in California could have taken days - or even weeks - via mail. Just a decade or so ago, phone calls back and forth across the country would have cost a small fortune. With cell phones and a national calling plan, the calls were virtually free. Utilizing cell phones, fax machines, computers, scanners, e-mail and the Internet, we were able to make things happen in short order. During the search for my husband's cousin, his mother wrote a letter to her and wanted to include a photo. She was not sure the letter said what she wished, so we sat together at the computer and edited the letter, creating it in Microsoft Word. I then scanned the photos she wished to send, so that she would still have her originals, and printed them AND the letter, which she signed and mailed to her niece. By the end of the week, she received a telephone call from her niece - the letter and photos had arrived.

When my niece was born in 1990, I spent hours photographing her growth... and countless dollars printing the pictures, then carefully labeling them and placing them in an album. Today, I am photographing HER baby with my digital camera and editing

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