Who Decided Technology Has an Age Limit? | Ep 03

Who decided technology has an age limit? On this episode, host Andrea Nunez talks with the three people who make Wayne Senior Center's tech help program work: Francis, the center's digital navigator, Kevin, a retired aerospace engineer who volunteers every Tuesday, and Pinky, a longtime member.

They get into the real questions people walk in with, from full iCloud storage to connecting hearing aids to selling shoes on Facebook Marketplace, and why the goal is never just fixing the problem. It's building the confidence to solve the next one yourself. Kevin explains his "teach them to fish" philosophy, Pinky shares why a lifelong challenge with tech makes her the perfect person to encourage others, and everyone swaps stories from punch cards and IBM mainframes to a 90s Circuit City computer that came with an unforgettable bag of potato chips.

The throughline: we are all aging, we all feel behind sometimes, and we are all learning this together.

Chapters:

0:00   Welcome to Age Against the Machine
0:58   Meet Francis, Kevin, and Pinky
2:40   The most common tech challenges people bring in
05:07  "I'm just not good at technology": building confidence
06:50  Getting the word out, and why word of mouth works
08:35  Wiping an old laptop, and other things you can get help with
12:20  A senior center isn't the first place people think of for tech
13:27  The Facebook Marketplace shoe story
15:00  People who surprised themselves with what they learned
16:06  Pinky on a lifelong challenge with technology
17:52  Meet Kevin: retired, nearby, and wanting to give back
18:54  Punch cards, IBM mainframes, and standing in line to run code
20:33  What people bring Kevin: phones, Uber, and video calls
21:51  "Teach them to fish": one word for a tech session
22:57  The three qualities every tech volunteer needs
23:34  What keeps Kevin coming back (and what members taught him)
24:05  Cutting the cord, AI, and classes that are really discussions
25:07  Why a group session beats a one-on-one fix
26:54  Pinky's first computer, and learning to type in high school
28:10  Francis on the family computer and the Circuit City potato chips
29:48  Generational differences in when we all learned to type
30:00  Disrupting the narrative: use the resources around you
32:15  Where and when to get tech help at Wayne Senior Center

Age Against the Machine challenges the narrative of getting older through honest conversations with members, community voices, and local experts.

Wayne Senior Center tech help: drop-in Tuesdays 9 to 11 AM and Wednesdays 1:30 to 3:30 PM. More at wayneseniorcenter.org

Transcript

Andrea | Host (00:06): 

Welcome to Age Against the Machine, a podcast about challenging the narrative of getting older. This is where we question outdated ideas about aging and have honest conversations about how people are really living today. We talk about relationships, reinvention, health, purpose, technology, identity starting over and so much more. Each episode, I sit down with members, community voices, and local experts sharing real experiences, fresh perspectives, and the things nobody talks about enough when it comes to getting older. I'm your host, Andrea. Let's get started. Today on Age Against the Machine, we are talking to Francis, our digital navigator, Kevin, our tech volunteer, and Pinky, our center member. Francis, can you start the conversation, your role here as a digital navigator, how long you've been working here at Wayne Senior Center? 

Francis |Digital Navigator (00:58): 

So I do tech education. So I do classes on phones and laptops and all sorts of other stuff. I do one-on-one help and then I do drop-in time here at the center and at some local libraries too. So Kevin helps me out with the drop-in time. It's a couple times a week where for two hours people can come in with whatever questions they have. And I've been here for about four years. 

Andrea | Host (01:27):
 Okay. Yeah. So you are one person, so you can't do it all. So that's where Kevin comes in, right? Kevin, 

how long have you been volunteering here at Wayne Senior Center? 

Kevin |Francis' Assistant (01:36):
 Probably three or four months, I guess. Okay. Yeah. So every Tuesday I come over from nine to 11 and 

help Francis out. 

Andrea | Host (01:44):
 And Pinky, you have been meeting with Francis over the years. How long have you been a Wayne Senior 

Center member? 

Pinky |WSC Member (01:53):
 Wow. I'm thinking at least four years. 

Andrea | Host (01:59):
 Four years. Okay. And you have come to Francis, for computer help, has it been a wide range of things? 

Cell phone assistance, all of the above? 

Pinky |WSC Member (02:10): 

Most recently, I added to my hearing aids a mechanism that you wear or you hold and it acts as a microphone and the sound will go directly into my hearing aids. And my audiologist did not have enough time to work with me on all of the ins and outs and details. So I set up two, I think there've been two meetings one-on-one with Francis so far on that. 

Andrea | Host (02:40): 

So today we're going to talk a little bit about how technology can feel intimidating and how Francis and Kevin come together and help build the confidence in people, how we can redefine learning these new things as we age. So what are some of the most common tech challenges that people come to you for? 

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I feel like the number one thing when people ask me what the most popular thing is, is like your iCloud storage is full or they 

Pinky |WSC Member (03:19): Have 

Francis |Digital Navigator (03:19): 

Too many photos on their phone. They're getting the emails that their iCloud is full, their Google Drive is full. And do I need to upgrade or where are all my photos stored? How do I delete them? Whatever that is. That's probably the number one thing. But there's all sorts of different things people have asked questions about. I'm sure Kevin has seen already the wide variety of types of topics that can come in. But it's mostly people's phones. I think because phones are the most commonly used device. Right. 

Andrea | Host (03:54): Yeah. 

Francis |Digital Navigator (03:56): And stuff related to that. 

Andrea | Host (03:59): Both iPhone and Android? 

Francis |Digital Navigator (04:02): 

I feel like it's mostly been iPhone. I think you asked that because Pinky is a Android person and there have been less classes on that, but for whatever reason, their response hasn't been as strong. I don't know why. 

Andrea | Host (04:18):
 Yeah. So people bring iPhones, their Android's computer, laptops, iPads, tablets as well? 

Francis |Digital Navigator (04:26): 

Yeah, they bring whatever. So people have brought in their laptops and their desktops. People have brought in their printers and all sorts of different tech. I mean, it's a pretty wide ranging term, technology. You could really call anything technology. So it's kind of interesting to see how people, when they hear there's tech help available, what they're thinking of to get help with. 

Andrea | Host (04:55):
 Right. Well, like Pinky just said, her hearing aids. Her hearing aids. 

Francis |Digital Navigator (04:59): Yeah. 

Andrea | Host (04:59): 

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So what if somebody comes to you and says, "I'm just not good at technology." How do you work them 

through that? How do you make them feel confident? 

Francis |Digital Navigator (05:07): 

Yeah. I mean, if someone feels like they don't have those specific skills, it's usually first trying to kind of clarify okay, you don't feel like you're good at this very specific thing, but because it is so wide ranging, it's like nobody is going to be good and skilled and have experience with every little bit of technology out there. So we're trying to learn, okay, what's the most useful thing? What's this one specific thing you're trying to learn that's going to have an impact in your life? Maybe it's your hearing aids or the photos and sharing the photos with a friend or a family member or applying for social security online or whatever it is. Making it as specific as possible so that you can feel like you've accomplished that thing and not be utterly overwhelmed by like, yeah, society is entirely online and an entirely digital and it's all these things I don't understand. 

(06:06):
 Because I think everybody feels that way, people of any age. 

Andrea | Host (06:11):
 Right. Well, yeah, because you might have people that come in and just say that they're always feeling 

behind on latest technology, but really we're all kind of learning it together. Yeah. 

Francis |Digital Navigator (06:24): I feel behind. 

Andrea | Host (06:25): Yeah. 

Francis |Digital Navigator (06:28):
 You pick and choose what you need for your own life 

Andrea | Host (06:31): 

Though. Right. And it's building that confidence. How do you get people involved in technology, wanting to come to your classes, wanting to get help one-on-one? Just I guess really like the stepping stone of technology, right? 

Pinky |WSC Member (06:50): 

I'm thinking more in the lines from a broader perspective of marketing and advertising. And think about when you need something for your house, who do you talk to? Who is a professional who comes highly recommended from family, from neighbors? So in this context here, I'm thinking more of using the center, using people who have been helped to get the word out to others. If I can do it, you can too. And if you're afraid to start at baby steps first and talk to someone who has been helped, who has challenges and has been able to have some success stories. And I think that that would help to assure some of the other seniors because I think I'm smack dab in the middle of the age range. And if I can learn these things, what's preventing them? And maybe they just need to hear from some of us who have had these little success stories. 

Andrea | Host (08:10): 

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Earlier, Francis said something about how technology, for some people it's coming to learn about their cell phones. I think some people just forget that you're having an issue with your smart watch or your, I don't know, just something in the home. Whatever it may be, they can come. And so I guess it's really getting the word out that, hey, bring that watch and we'll see what we can figure out. 

Pinky |WSC Member (08:35): 

I have another example for you. At one point, my brother bought me a new laptop, which meant that he couldn't help with the one that I had. And I needed to strip everything in that. I made an appointment with Francis. So there may be people who are getting a new phone or especially a laptop where family has gifted them with a new laptop and family is not nearby. And they need to know how to delete everything on the older transfer over and make sure what's remnant is deleted from the old one. And I made an appointment with Francis for that. 

Andrea | Host (09:18):
 Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. So how else, Francis, would you try to get people in to get that? Yeah. 

Francis |Digital Navigator (09:28): 

It's funny. As we're talking about it, I'm kind of thinking of Pinky's first example of you try to find a reputable person to work on your house. And if someone is just kind of sitting at home and they have a problem with their phone, they're not thinking like, "Oh, let me go to my local senior center and get help with my technology." That's just not a service that you really associate with that. I think firstly, the vast majority of people don't really know what a senior center is and what a senior center does. And then 

Andrea | Host (09:58):
 That's - Add your role of digital navigator too. 

Francis |Digital Navigator (10:00): 

And if you do, yeah, that's not maybe a service that you'd associate with it. So I'd be curious, I guess, just thinking about drawing people in and what would get someone to come in for the first time for something like that. How did you hear about it and what made you want to come check it out the first time? 

Pinky |WSC Member (10:16):
 Well, in answer to your question, once I knew what role you were playing here and how broadly it was 

evolving, I took advantage of it right away. 

Andrea | Host (10:28):
 So that's what brought you in. Basically, you knew what Francis did and you knew the range of things 

that he could assist you with. 

Pinky |WSC Member (10:37): Absolutely. And that's how you 

Andrea | Host (10:38): Heard about it. Okay. 

Pinky |WSC Member (10:39): 

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And I will tell you that initially he wasn't nearly as familiar with an Android phone, but he got up to speed really quickly. And he still was so knowledgeable more than I was. So anytime I've had an issue, I have made an appointment. And what I do is I send him an email. I said, "This is the challenge I'm facing. Can you help?" So usually, because he's so diligent, he'll do some research even before our appointments. So he's prepared. And that makes his time helpful so that if we don't need a full hour, he's available for someone else. 

Andrea | Host (11:22): 

Yeah. Yeah. So Kevin, when you were wanting to volunteer, you went on the website. Did you know that we had Francis as our digital navigator? Did you know that was the program that we had here? Or did you just want to volunteer for anything? 

Francis |Digital Navigator (11:38):
 Or what were you expecting, I guess, when you thought about volunteering? What were you imagining 

you were going to do? 

Kevin |Francis' Assistant (11:43): 

It was very open-ended. I didn't know there was a tech Tuesday. I didn't know there was a Francis. I just wanted to help. And I just though, what skills do I have that I could. And I'm pretty good with spreadsheets. So I think I offered that up in the original email. And I haven't done anything with spreadsheets here. It's been. 

Andrea | Host (12:02):
 Well, now that we know you're offering. 

Francis |Digital Navigator (12:05): Rustle 

Andrea | Host (12:06): Up some 

Francis |Digital Navigator (12:06): Spreadsheets. 

Andrea | Host (12:08):
 Yeah, it's getting the word out there that this is available because you're right. When you think of senior 

center, you don't necessarily think of technology, but it's a resource. 

Kevin |Francis' Assistant (12:20):
 It's funny. I was thinking of as we were just chatting here, the people that come in here looking for our 

help, they're the ones that know we're here and they're brave enough to come 

Francis |Digital Navigator (12:33): 

In. Yeah. Think about what you just said, Kevin. I feel like that's a feeling I have constantly where there's someone will come in for one visit and you can tell it's taken a lot of energy and effort for them to come in. 

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You're right. It's word of mouth getting the word out there that this is available, this is an available resource. It helps, I think, Francis, that you go to different places in the community as well. Using examples of things that you've helped people with. One that sticks with me is Facebook Marketplace. I know you've helped people, including Pinky, have access to that. And that's not something that. I mean, if somebody's sitting at home, they're probably not thinking, "Let me go to the senior center to get help with that." They probably didn't even know they could come here to. Maybe they thought their cell phone they could get help with, but not Facebook Marketplace.That's pretty cool. 

Pinky |WSC Member (13:27): 

I'm smiling and chuckling because I did. I came here for that. We took pictures of Together. We didn't sell the shoes though. Yeah, we did. They didn't sell. He helped me create the narrative and everything. And they didn't sell. So he showed me how to take them down off of Facebook. And then I donated them to a charity. 

Andrea | Host (13:46): That's cool. 

Pinky |WSC Member (13:46): That's me. 

Andrea | Host (13:47): 

I think that's something different. It's not your typical, "Can you help me access this? Can you help me take pictures? Can you help me with the cloud?" It's getting onto Facebook Marketplace and learning to sell those things. And that's neat. I like that. So I think if people realized there are more opportunities than just he can help my. There's more than just what we normally offer here. There's all the technology, but the amount of technology that you guys can help with is pretty broad. 

Francis |Digital Navigator (14:21):
 And there's a bajillion other topics of if there's volunteers listening out there that want to present on other 

topics. It's always handy and helpful. 

Kevin |Francis' Assistant (14:31): 

Yeah. Kind of real quick, and Piggy kind of gave me the idea was that, or both of you did, was it's not just coming in here and getting a problem solved. It's coming in and maybe learning something. Oh, I didn't know Facebook could do that. Marketplace. Or I didn't know my lap. I could have a video call with my granddaughter on my laptop. So 

Andrea | Host (14:53): It's 

Kevin |Francis' Assistant (14:53):
 That kind of thing. So people just getting more value out of what they have as opposed to just solving 

problems.
 Andrea | Host (15:00): 

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Right. Speaking of building the confidence, can you give us an example of an individual or maybe a couple examples of people who have surprised themselves with something that they've learned from whether it's taking your class or just meeting with you one-on-one? 

Francis |Digital Navigator (15:18): Well, can I use Pinky as an example? 

Andrea | Host (15:20): Absolutely. Yeah. 

Francis |Digital Navigator (15:22): 

I feel like in a very general sense, meeting with people, sometimes there'll be a feeling of, "Yeah, I don't know how to approach this topic. I don't know how to achieve what I want to achieve." And then we go over how to do it. And sometimes just having another person to go through it together, you realize that like, okay, that wasn't so bad. There's a sense of surprise in that maybe you know more than you thought you did. I don't know if you feel like that's the case, Pinky, but. 

Andrea | Host (15:51): Absolutely. 

Francis |Digital Navigator (15:52): Yeah. 

Andrea | Host (15:52):
 Yeah. So Pinky, you've been meeting with Francis one-on-one over the years. In just a sentence or two, 

how did you feel about technology prior to meeting with Francis? 

Pinky |WSC Member (16:06): 

Quite intimidating. As you know, and as Francis knows, it's been a lifelong challenge for me. I was told at a young age that technology was going to be difficult for me based on aptitude tests I had done. And those tests have proven to be correct. But knowing that this resource was here and being so goal directed as I am, I have utilized Francis so many times with all kinds of questions and issues. So he is invaluable here. 

Andrea | Host (16:50):
 So do you feel more confident now using technology? I 

Pinky |WSC Member (16:55):
 Do, but I also am acutely aware of my limitations. And if I have questions that I can't resolve, then I email 

Francis and ask for an appointment. 

Andrea | Host (17:09):
 Yep. Yep. And if there was, what would you say to someone who feels like technology isn't for them? 

Pinky |WSC Member (17:19):
 Well, given what I've already shared about my lifelong challenges, and yes, it's only gotten a little more 

difficult only because our society with time has become driven by technology. So that has made it even 

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more challenging for me. So my response is, if I can learn with my limitations, someone who doesn't have 

my limitations can learn too. 

Andrea | Host (17:52): 

Yeah. Francis mentioned earlier that he meets with people one-on-one, goes to the libraries. So he's in the community. So he's one person, this can't all be done by Francis. So he has a great volunteer who comes. You come every Tuesday at nine o'clock for the open tech help? 

Kevin |Francis' Assistant (18:13):
 I try to get here every Tuesday. Some days I'm just traveling. 

Andrea | Host (18:17):
 How did you first get involved with volunteering here? 

Kevin |Francis' Assistant (18:21): 

I guess the number one thing was I'm retired, so I have the time. And I live nearby. So I actually can walk here. And I wanted to give back to help people. I enjoy that. So I just went on the website, contact us, sent an email. I think probably to you. Maybe. And then you hook me up with Francis. 

Andrea | Host (18:44):
 Yeah. Yeah. Has technology always been a part of your life? Has your work involved around technology? 

Do you remember the first time you used technology? Used a computer 

Kevin |Francis' Assistant (18:54): 

Maybe? Yes, sadly. No, it was way back. IBM mainframes. I don't know if you've ever heard of that, but there was a time when the only computers were IBMs, and then there was Honeywell. But back in the IBM days, we used punch cards. And they were these cards that were about this big, twice the size of a plane card. And you literally had to insert a blank card into a machine and it punched holes into it. And then you would put a line of code on there or some data. And then you would do that for every line of code was a new card. And then you took that stack of cards and fed it into another machine that went into the IBM mainframe. 

Andrea | Host (19:38): Okay. Wow. 

Pinky |WSC Member (19:39): I 

Andrea | Host (19:39): Remember 

Pinky |WSC Member (19:40): That. 

Andrea | Host (19:40): Do you? Yeah. What was 

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The objective of that? What would be achieved? 

Kevin |Francis' Assistant (19:44): 

So then once the program was in memory, you could run it. You could run the code after giving it some data. But you literally stood in line behind other people who were putting their cards in. Interesting. And you might stand there two hours waiting to put your - 

Francis |Digital Navigator (20:01):
 What would you get? What was the job that was. 

Kevin |Francis' Assistant (20:06):
 I'm an engineer by training. And so it was always an aerospace engineer. So it was that type of thing. So 

solving orbits or something of that nature. 

Andrea | Host (20:17): Wow. That's pretty 

Kevin |Francis' Assistant (20:19): Cool. It was a long time ago. 

Andrea | Host (20:20):
 Yeah. So what are you helping people here? What's the biggest. Is it same as Francis? People are coming 

to you with their cell phones or is it something else other than 

Kevin |Francis' Assistant (20:33): 

That? It's mostly cell phones because they're ubiquitous. My first client was a member who needed help with her hearing aids. Bluetooth connectivity, all that kind of stuff. That was pretty straightforward. And after that, it was things like how do I use Uber? How do I get it onto my phone? How do I add my credit card? Things of that nature. And regarding laptops, it would be, I want to have a video call with my granddaughter. And those are the most rewarding because you really know you're changing that person's life. Now they can converse with a granddaughter who lives on the other coast. And it's just very rewarding. 

Andrea | Host (21:19): Right. Yeah. 

Kevin |Francis' Assistant (21:21): Yeah. 

Andrea | Host (21:21): 

Well, yeah. And it also provides that independence for them too, right? Yes. So they might live at home, but being able to, again, like Pinky was saying, being able to have her hearing aids connect to the Bluetooth or being able to call a family member and be able to see them. I don't know. It just adds so much more. If you could describe a tech volunteer session in a word or phrase, what would it be? 

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For me, it's rewarding. To me, it's not about the gadgets. It's about the human to human experience and building confidence in that person. So it always starts out with there's nervousness and meet and greet. They don't know me. I don't know them. And describe your problem. And sometimes they have 10 things that they want to do. "Okay, let's prioritize the 10 things. "And then we just go down the list. And I try to not just show them how to solve that particular problem, but literally teach them the fish and build their confidence in what they're doing. And you can start to see the light bulb go off in this aha moment that they really," Oh, I'm starting to understand this. Okay, I know how to download an app and configure it with my credit card. I can do that with other apps now. "Oh wow. 

(22:46):
 Yeah. So that's nice to get to that point. 

Andrea | Host (22:49):
 Yeah, absolutely. What three qualities do you think a volunteer needs to have when working with people 

who are learning technology? 

Kevin |Francis' Assistant (22:57): 

Patience. Number one, I guess. And empathy too. And then just a little bit of creativity. Every person coming in is different. Every problem's different. And it just has to be handled in a very respective way with the goal of trying to solve their problem, but also to build their confidence. 

Andrea | Host (23:24):
 Right, right. Yeah, absolutely. What keeps you motivated? Is it that rewarding feeling? What keeps you 

motivated to coming back here and volunteering and helping people? 

Kevin |Francis' Assistant (23:34): 

Yeah. It's been a real surprise for me to. I just thought, oh, I'll be helping out. I'm going to give Francis some help. But it's been just so rewarding for me much more than I would have guessed. Even to the point that some of the members have taught me technical things that I did not know. And I was surprised at that. Sometimes on the AI front too. They're much more versed. They really know what they're talking about. So yeah, it's been great and surprising. 

Andrea | Host (24:05): 

And that's one of the classes too. I know that Francis, because sometimes it's about a discussion, right? One time you had a class that was all about, what was it? Cutting the cord, like cutting the cable cord. So it's not necessarily physically showing or teaching something. It's the discussion of why are people doing this? Same with AI, ChatGPT, having that discussion too. 

Francis |Digital Navigator (24:31): 

I'm always having that same thing where. Well, that cutting the cable one especially. I don't have experience with every single cable company, but people brought their bills. This one person kind of took over the whole thing and was doing a line by line examination of everybody's bill. You can cut this, you can cut this. Wow. But we all learned something. But it was nice to have that environment of like, this is an hour we're going to take to talk about this particular topic. We're all interested in that. But yeah, it's neat to. Yeah, I learn stuff all the time. 

Andrea | Host (25:07): 

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Yeah. What else do you think is the benefit of meeting? Let's say they can't get an appointment with you one-to-one because for whatever reason, encouraging people to come to a group session. What's the benefit of that? 

Francis |Digital Navigator (25:19): 

Yeah. I mean, I think the main thing is that other people are there and there's always going to be something that comes up that you don't really expect. When you get a group of people, there's always going to be some surprises. And that's kind of the fun part about it. We always take diversions. Yeah. I mean, even if it's the same topic that we did last month, it's always something different. So I think that's the big advantage. 

Andrea | Host (25:44):
 Do you come up with these topics or have people come to you and asked you, "Hey, can we learn about 

this 

Francis |Digital Navigator (25:50): 

Or work together?" A little both. I try to ask for suggestions. AI is very a common suggestion because it's in the news and it's really put in our face all the time in every service that we use. So we do that fairly often to try to check out what's out there and see how to use it and what they're even referring to in all these ads and everything. And people use it. And every time we run the class, I learn more because people are using it in different ways. I can't know all those different ways. 

Andrea | Host (26:22):
 Thank you. You've attended one-on-one sessions with Francis, but also the classes as well, correct? 

Pinky |WSC Member (26:29): 

Yes. I attended, I think, a couple of the group sessions here, and at least one at a library. And I've also sent him an email or two about topic suggestions. Most recently was on QR codes. So looking forward to hearing back from him on a teaching session to everyone here. 

Andrea | Host (26:54):
 What is your first experience with technology? 

Pinky |WSC Member (26:58):
 Well, computers preceded cell phones, if my memory serves me right. 

Kevin |Francis' Assistant (27:04): Big time. 

Pinky |WSC Member (27:05): 

Yeah. So I had a tower and my brother Jeffrey in California was the one who bought it. And all this time he was in California and I'm in PA. We grew up in Ohio. And so there were times we would spend hours on the phone because I was in a panic state and I didn't know what to do. And this was before the senior center and this was before Francis. So he was my only resource. So I remember. Now I took typing in high school, even though I was a nursing major, but I was thinking if I have to do papers in college, I better know how to type. How to do it. And I was the only college bound person in my class. The rest 

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were going to, I believe, like a community college business track. Now I was in the college track, but I 

count my blessings in retrospect because I'm fast on the keyboard now. 

Andrea | Host (28:04):
 Yeah, you knew it was a skill that you wanted to learn. Yeah. Yeah. Francis, what was your first 

experience with technology? 

Francis |Digital Navigator (28:10):
 Yeah, I was going to ask what yours was. Well, yeah, it's hard to say because we had Game Boys and 

stuff. Yeah, we did. But we had our first home computer was a desktop. (28:24): 

And I remember, I mean, it was in the mid '90s sometime. We got a family computer. My dad went to an event at Circuit City where they were just on sale and he waited in line overnight - Circuit City. At Circuit City. And I remember it very vividly because we went and visited him in line. He was there with some work friends to get some discount on this computer. And he had gotten some chips from the Price Chopper grocery store across the street. And he was just obsessed with these chips. He thought they were the best chips he's ever had. And so we had these plain potato chips from Price Chopper for months after we got the computer. And the computer, we didn't do a ton. We played games. We had a drag racing game we would play. It was fun. I mean, and eventually we only had a family computer at home. 

(29:17):
 I got a personal computer when I went to college, which was different than a lot of my peers who had 

their own computers or cell phones. But we didn't do a ton on it at home. 

Andrea | Host (29:30):
 Yeah. But did you take a typing class? 

Francis |Digital Navigator (29:33):
 We took a typing. Yeah, I took typing in middle school. 

Andrea | Host (29:36): Oh, middle school? 

Francis |Digital Navigator (29:37): I think so. Yeah. 

Andrea | Host (29:38):
 Okay. Yeah. I was just curious because that's what reminded me of. I remember we took a typing class, 

but it was in elementary school. 

Francis |Digital Navigator (29:45): Oh, really? 

Andrea | Host (29:46):
 Yeah. It was early on. I want to say third grade. Yeah. 

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Oh, these are all the generational differences. I 

Andrea | Host (29:50):
 Know. Isn't that crazy? But the fact that you still learned it and you knew the importance of wanting to 

learn it and look how. I mean, it's benefiting you now. 

Pinky |WSC Member (29:59): Yeah. No. 

Andrea | Host (30:00): 

That's great. That's good. This podcast is all about challenging the assumptions of aging. So we're going to ask all three of you this question, what is one thing you are doing to disrupt the narrative of getting older? 

Pinky |WSC Member (30:15):
 From what I'm thinking as far as utilizing the resources that are around me, that's how I am disrupting 

what I call the aging process. 

Andrea | Host (30:30):
 Absolutely. That's a great answer. Thank you. Kevin, how about you? What is one thing you are doing to 

disrupt the narrative of getting older? 

Kevin |Francis' Assistant (30:39): 

I think briefly I touched on it earlier, but it's mostly building the confidence in people to be inquisitive and solve their own problems, solve their own technical issues. It's one thing every time you hit a little bump in the road, oh, I'll just go see Francis on Tuesday or Kevin on Tuesday. But to get them to that point like, oh, I remember him showing me how to solve this. Maybe I can do it myself. And to me, that's a good disruptor for the people that come in here, for the members. 

Andrea | Host (31:13):
 Absolutely. Yeah, absolutely. That's a perfect good answer. And how about you, Francis? 

Francis |Digital Navigator (31:18): 

I like both of theirs, so I'm going to say both of theirs. I mean, I think not everybody is using all the resources available to him, so I think that's an amazing suggestion. I'm thankful to be working here and get to kind of spread the word about as many resources that I'm aware of to people as possible. And trying to kind of get people using those, feeling independent, I think is great too. I think as an employee here, I personally tried to kind of embrace an attitude of we are all aging and we're all kind of in it together and it's all experiences that we share. So when we're learning, we're all learning together. This was what I hoped to kind of bring to it. 

Andrea | Host (32:15):
 Can you tell our listeners about your one-on-one sessions or offsite or in center? 

Francis |Digital Navigator (32:24): 

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There is always information on our website, wayneseniorcenter.org. People can call or email to find out what's coming up. Every Tuesday from nine to 11, we have drop-in time. You can come in and just have a question or you don't have to make an appointment or anything. And every Wednesday afternoon from 1:30 to 3:30, we have that as well. And stay tuned for anything else. Yeah. 

Andrea | Host (32:50):
 Well, thank you all for joining me. It was great talking to you. I appreciate your time. 

Kevin |Francis' Assistant (32:55): Thank you. 

Pinky |WSC Member (32:56):
 Thank you. And as I mentioned to you, you can teach an old dog neutral. There 

Andrea | Host (33:01):
 You go. That's true. Thank you for joining us. We'll see you next time.