Peter is an 79 year old widower living alone in England. A couple weeks ago, he stumbled onto YouTube. After watching other people's postings for a while, he decided that he would try putting a video of his own on, in an attempt to connect somehow with anyone else, or at least have an outlet for his thoughts. He wryly made his login name "geriatric1927."
His first posting was a week ago. It's a nervous, awkward offering that is also quite sweet. He fiddles with the stereo to include some blues music for his beginning and ending, he gets a little short of breath, and without introduction, bursts right into explaining that he's gotten addicted to YouTube, and even though he's old, he thought he'd give it a go.
After a few videos, more and more people began watching, commenting, and asking him to tell about what his life has been like. He's been sucessful in making contact with people and becoming a part of the YouTube community. He's been very, very successful. In his video, "Telling it All, Part 1," he's absolutely floored by the number of people who've contacted him. He's just received notification of the thousands of comments people have given, and is still shaking when he turns on the camera. He tries to express just how thankful and amazed he is by it all, and breaks down crying at the end as he tries to stop recording.
In the past week, well over a million people have tuned in to hear Peter's continuing stories of life in World War II, his passion for motorcycles, his time as a radar operator in the war... He's an intelligent, interesting man, who's lived through more than I can imagine. I highly recommend watching his postings. I've been turning him up and listening as I do the dishes and such.
Congratulations, Peter. You deserve this happiness.
1 comment:
That's really a great thing, Steph. In another time this guy might have spent decades penning an autobiography that no one would ever read. Hurrah for technology! This is one of the loveliest examples I've heard of how humanizing it can be.
Post a Comment