Several years ago, I unexpectedly lost my 60 something year old Grandma. This week, which oddly enough would have been her birthday, I set up her computer which has been in my possession for at least 2 years for the first time.
Grandma was a newspaper writer for many years, but this computer I am sure came into her possession long after she had traded careers. Still she was active in politics in her own ways and had several "letters to the editor" saved in her files. One particular letter to the editor was particularly opinionated--which didn't really surprise me because of her personality. What did surprise me was the way it was "signed" at the bottom. She had used her first given name and her maiden name. What makes that so unusual was that Grandma ALWAYS went by her middle name and she had been married over 40 years. Quite frankly, I would guess that few if any of her closest friends would have even suspected the letter had been written by her just by reading it and the name at the end. Even as her grand-daughter, I would probably not have suspected it was her had I not read it on her computer instead of in the paper.
But what I really found interesting was the fact that both she and I have sought public ways to voice our opinions without actually having our associates know it is us making those statements. I can't ask her why she did it, but I can make guesses because of the things I feel--and because of the content of the letter which would have been unpopular with a large number of people.
Perhaps one day in the eternal worlds she and I will get to have a funny little discussion about our "anonymity" in writing opinionated things. But until then, I'll be grateful for the memories I have of her, and the new insights I have of her through the things I have gotten to read on her computer.
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