Al Kouba, who lives in Bend, Ore., was told by his son in California that his family’s Christmas letter would only be posted on Facebook–not mailed. That’s when the retired systems engineer knew it was time to play catch up: “If you’re going to communicate with your family, you have to be on Facebook,” he says.
So he turned to a technology expert: his 15-year-old granddaughter, Marlee Norr. But as Marlee explained the steps to log on to the social-networking site, Mr. Kouba protested: “Look, kid, I’m 77 years old! I’m not quite as swift as I used to be.” Both laughed, says Marlee, also of Bend, and she agreed to “back up and slow down.”