It all began in November of 1999 when Lois Chappelle read the following article:

INTERNET, E-MAIL ARE AN' ELIXIR' FOR SENIORS

Monday, November 22, 1999 Section: NATION/WORLD Edition: NO STAR Page: 02A ASSOCIATED PRESS

SAN FRANCISCO -- Is the fountain of youth available at the click of a mouse?

Experts say nursing home residents, even the frail ones, take to computers quickly and can revitalize their lives through e-mail and the Internet.

"The Internet is a window to life," said David Lansdale, a geriatrics expert from Stanford University. "It's an elixir for these people." Lansdale, who believes every nursing home should be equipped with communal e-mail and Internet access, is one of several academics raising the issue here at a weekend meeting of the Gerontological Society of America.

Lansdale said mastery of e-mail and Internet techniques can help overcome what he termed the four plagues of institutionalized elders: loneliness, boredom, helplessness and decline of mental skills. "The end result is we want to promote relationships," he said. Getting connected is bringing people back to life."

He directs a program called LinkingAges that teaches nursing home residents how to communicate with faraway family, old friends and health care providers by using e- mail. The 12-week course ends with a graduation ceremony, and encourages participants to share the e-mail they receive from relatives.

Lansdale told of a woman in her 90s who mastered the lessons and got a message from a granddaughter that said: "Dear Grandma, I can't believe you just sent me e-mail. You're the coolest grandma in California."

Group dynamics of a nursing home can improve the program's success. One resident might exclaim, "Hey, I can do this," and other residents will be emboldened to make the effort themselves, Lansdale said in a presentation Saturday. People who master the technology gain confidence that spreads into other aspects of their lives, and many take pride in helping teach the skills to their fellow residents, he said.

"You have opened up the heavens to me," Lansdale said he was told by one resident who must use a wheelchair.

Douglas McConatha, a sociologist from West Chester University in Pennsylvania, said he observed improved morale and a drop in depression among nursing home residents who received Internet training.

So Lois jumped on this and sent the following email to David Lansdale:

I am a retired teacher/scool principal/librarian having a ball wih my WEBTV. I am interested in the program to encourage the use of WebTV in senior communial living facilities and have already talked with an administrator at an about to open assisted living facility in Port Orange, Florida where I live. I am also a member of our local Regional Library Board and see possibilities for extending and offering the program there.     

This area has numerous assisted living facilities and I see real possibilities for expanding such a program here. Please send me whatever information you have available. I also have a fax I can turn on if that is necessary. Incidentally, I found your site two days ago, moved on and then couldn't find it again. Today, I found it again while looking at a Web set top news for new type of SetTop Remote Control. Lois Chappelle

David Lansdale sent the following reply:

Dear Lois: Thank you for your interest in our program. I am looking for trainers around the country, who could launch our unique program nationwide. Would you be interested, as I imagine given your background that you could both run and teach the program?

I look forward to hearing from you. You can email me directly at dplansdale@yahoo.com. David

And the rest, as they say is, "history"!!!