So much happens on the internet these days that often we can get left behind. I am still trying to figure out what is so great about MySpace, for instance, but everyone seems to be using it. These things become the preserve of the young because people our age have not the time or inclination to keep up with all that’s happening.

Being so resistant to the new means that sometimes we miss out on really useful and interesting things, however. And YouTube is one of these - a library of videos on the net that can be viewed and added to by anyone. Naturally, the young discovered it first and there are lots of very silly and pointless videos included as a result. But, as demonstrated by a 94-year-old veteran, Les Loken, YouTube can be used for worthwhile purposes too.

Les has been recording his memories of World War II and other times, then putting the resulting video on YouTube. These are fascinating records of a time that is distant even to those of our age group. But they also point the way to another advantage of YouTube: it’s a nostalgia machine!

Think back to those glorious days of the 1960s and the music that filled our ears; and it’s probably on YouTube. There are videos of the most surprising things, bands long forgotten (or so we thought), videos of groups made before videos were invented. It is a treasure trove of memories for us.

Just to give a few examples, here are some clips of music from the sixties, arbitrarily selected as they sprang to mind:

Beach Boys

Kinks

Beatles

Give it a try - just go to YouTube, in the search bar enter the name of a group you want to hear and see what comes up!

You know Dasher and Dancer
And Prancer and Vixen
Comet and Cupid
And Donner and Blitzen

But do you recall
The most famous reindeer of all?

The most famous reindeer of all didn’t even exist until 1939 and more shocking is that when he first arrived on the scene, his name wasn’t Rudolph.

In the 1930’s Montgomery Ward stores had Santa give away coloring books to the children who visited Santa. Executives decided it would save money if they created a Christmas storybook and publish it for the handouts instead.

Robert L. May worked as a copywriter for Montgomery Ward. He was given the task of creating the storybook and he wrote a charming story about a shy, oddball reindeer who didn’t fit in with the rest of the crew. Rollo’s bright red nose made them laugh at him and tease him.

Montgomery Ward executives liked the story, hated the name. They insisted that May find another name for the reindeer; Rollo was too carefree. They weren’t crazy about the second suggestion, Reginald, either.

Finally Robert May came up with a name that pleased the company - Rudolph. In a brilliant move, May asked for the copyright to the story.

Rudolph the Red-nosed Reindeer was immortalized in a song recorded by Gene Autry in 1949 and has been the star of his own Christmas special.

Robert May continued to work for Montgomery Ward and retired nicely on the royalties earned from Rollo, ahem, I mean Rudolph, the Red-nosed Reindeer.

Talking of being thankful for blessings, one of the things we in our fifties can be grateful for more than most is the personal computer. We remember a time when there was no such thing and so we can appreciate more than other generations how it has changed our lives and made them easier.

The growth of the internet that computers have made possible has multiplied the benefits available to us too. Now we can shop without ever leaving the house, pay bills with a few simple mouse clicks, communicate with friends, expand our interests into previously unexplored fields, read the news that interests us without having to wade through the stuff we don’t want, and so on almost forever. The list is endless.

One of the possibilities realized by younger generations very early on in the history of computers was their capacity for entertainment. We have watched the growth of the computer games industry with bemusement, amazement and sometimes alarm. Our children exist in a world that accepts new computer games as normal and they constantly ask for more. No longer is the computer game a thing for children - they have grown up and demand games that have grown with them into adulthood. And the industry happily meets the need. We watch and worry about addiction and time wasted, rather in the same way our parents worried about the television.

Yet the clock cannot be turned back. And, as long as the thing is out there, we might as well make use of it. We may not be able to cope with the huge, graphic adventures made for the young, games that require teenager reflexes and an insatiable desire for action, but there are quieter and more reflective games available too.

Most of us like puzzles in which there is no time pressure and it is just our brains against the machine. And the wonderful thing about the internet is that there are plenty of puzzle games that cost nothing at all. Just google “free puzzle games” and you will be presented with an inexhaustible list of relevant sites. The old standards like chess, checkers, mah jong, etc. are usually completely free, while others may add some advertising or be time-limited demonstrations of the full game.

In the coming weeks, I will be looking at a few of the gems that I have found - and I like games that take up no more than ten or twenty minutes of my time (I use them as a brief relaxation from the usual daily round). You may be the same or prefer longer, more involving games; if you have any suggestions or favorite games, why not tell me about them in the comments system?

If you’re over fifty - if you’re a boomer - then you will automatically recognize the words Bigfoot, Yeti and Sasquatch.

Legends about Bigfoot go back hundreds of years into Native American history (Sasquatch is a Salish Indian word meaning “wild man”) and sightings reported in America can be traced to the 1830s but Bigfoot first stepped out of legend and into the American consciousness in a big way in 1958.

That was the year that Ray Wallace discovered Bigfoot footprints in Humboldt County, California. The find launched a half-century of interest in the hairy, humanoid creature of legend and inspired thousands of individuals to spend their lives searching for more evidence of the large ape-like creature.

Following Ray Wallace’s death in 2002, his family came forward and admitted that he had perpetrated a hoax. They claimed that Ray had made the footprints himself using 16 inch carved feet that he strapped onto his boots. The amazing thing is that this revelation made little to no difference to the true believers and the search for Sasquatch continued in earnest.

Fuel to the fire of their imaginations was the famous Patterson-Gimlin film of 1967. Shot at the Bluff Creek area of the Six Rivers National Forest in northern Californa, the film showed a large, hairy, bipedal creature as it ambulated out of view. The film was studied by experts on both sides of the question of Bigfoot’s existence, especially because it allowed study of the creature’s gait. Although questions remain, the film has never been proved to be real nor has it ever been proved to be a hoax.

Born in 1958, the year of Bigfoot’s great publicity surge, was Jeffrey Meldrum, a tenured Associate Professor of Anatomy and Anthropology, and Adjunct Associate Professor of the Department of Anthropology at Idaho State University. Meldrum became a believer after finding some 15″ footprints in Walla Walla, Washington. Originally assuming the footprints to be a hoax, he then noted anatomical traits he says could not be faked. Meldrum, the author of Sasquatch: Legend Meets Science, has found that his belief in Sasquatch embarrasses his academic colleagues and he has become an outcast amongst the faculty at Idaho State.

Bigfoot has even made it in Hollywood, starring alongside John Lithgow in the 1987 film Harry and the Hendersons in which a family on a camping trip hits a bigfoot with their station wagon and takes him home.

Look for books on bigfoot and you will likely find them in the “paranormal” section of your local bookstore. Yet the legend continues, fueled by occasional sightings, findings of footprints or other evidence. 50 years after Bigfoot made it big, his existence is still a hotly debated issue.

More about Bigfoot:

Bigfoot at 50 - Evaluating a Half-Century of Bigfoot Evidence

The Bigfoot Field Researchers Organization

The International Bigfoot Society