| Let me tell you a quick story that started way back in | | | | Just think about that for a second... |
| 1962... | | | | One man in another country tracked down my father |
| An Idaho farm boy stepped off an airplane in the | | | | hundredsof miles out to sea on a ship simply by |
| Central | | | | knowing how to usethe Internet. |
| American country of Belize (then colonial British | | | | ** |
| Honduras)as one of the first Peace Corps volunteers. | | | | Upon arriving at Mr. Price's office we met not only with |
| He carriedlittle more than the clothes on his back and | | | | Mr. Price, but also with the editor and senior reporter |
| his prizedpossession - a tennis racquet. | | | | ofone of the nation's two major newspapers, The |
| There he met a Missouri school teacher, fell in love, | | | | Belize Times |
| gotmarried, and 5 years later yours truly appeared on | | | | Apparently my parent's return after 40 years rated |
| thescene. | | | | quite anews story since the Peace Corps and similar |
| Fast-forward a little over 4 decades and see just how | | | | organizationsplayed a vital role in helping the fledgling |
| muchthe Internet has impacted the entire planet. | | | | nation takehold. |
| ** | | | | When I asked if we could get a copy of the article, |
| Last week my family took a cruise for our summer | | | | thereporter told me it would appear on the Internet |
| vacation. | | | | next week! |
| Since the itinerary included Belize, my parents planned | | | | It turns out they not only publish their newspaper inprint, |
| totake the opportunity to renew friendships and show | | | | but also publish most of each edition online sofriends of |
| us theirold haunts. | | | | Belize all over the world can keep up withcurrent |
| On the surface it seemed simple enough, but as the | | | | events. |
| weekprogressed I realized just how much the Internet | | | | These dedicated newspaper people manage to |
| permeatesour lives, no matter which part of the world | | | | publish anentire weekly newspaper and distribute |
| we call home. | | | | content not onlynationally, but internationally via the |
| Once a day for the entire week I checked my email | | | | Internet. |
| onboardship. Despite the $.50 a minute cost to use | | | | They literally use the power of the Internet to |
| their satelliteconnection, it never ceased to amaze me | | | | influencethe course of an entire nation. |
| that I couldinstantly communicate with business | | | | Even more amazing, information technology allows |
| associates via emailfrom the middle of the ocean. | | | | them to doit all without a huge staff or massive |
| But the most amazing thing happened when my father | | | | budget. |
| got anemail onboard ship from one of his old friends, | | | | But to bring it back to a more personal level, |
| who alsohappens to be the first Prime Minister of | | | | uponarriving back at the port to catch our ship, our tour |
| Belize, Mr. | | | | guidehanded me her card and said, "Here's my card. |
| George Price. | | | | When you oryour friends come back to Belize, email |
| Before we left on our trip, my dad let Mr. Price's | | | | me and we'll makeall the arrangements for you." |
| officeknow he would visit the country briefly and | | | | Wow! |
| wondered if wecould stop by for a few minutes just | | | | Now that's the power and reach of the Internet to |
| to say hello. | | | | impactpeople's lives on so many levels and draw us all |
| On Tuesday my father got an email through the ship's | | | | closertogether as one global community - one person |
| officethat Mr. Price wanted to meet us at his office on | | | | at a time. |
| Friday. | | | | |