sharing a wonderful discovery
In honor of the Ultimate Blog Party, I’m going to direct you to one of my newest favorite blogs, The Life of Riley.
Now before you mistake “Riley” for one Mr. Bill O’Reilly (and me for a right-winger), let me show you a picture of the blog’s author:
Meet Olive Riley, a 107-year-old Aussie who has been graciously sharing her life and memories with the blogosphere since mid-February. Her friend does the typing for her “blob” as she has called it, and what comes out is nothing short of brilliant.
This is the beginning of Olive’s first post:
Good Morning everyone. My name is Olive Riley. I live in Australia near Sydney. I was born in Broken Hill on Oct. 20th 1899. Broken Hill is a mining town, far away in the centre of Australia. My Friend, Mike, has arranged this blog for me. He is doing the typing and I am telling the stories. He thinks it’s a good idea to tell what’s going on. He already made a film about me a few years back and people liked that, so they might like this blog too, he says. We’ll see.
What we’re seeing is that Mike was right. By its Third Post, The Life of Riley had amassed over 190,000 visits from all over the world.
With photos and stories from the last 100 years and topics ranging from Olive’s sipping shandy on a trip to Brisbane to see her son to her campaigning for a local “lettuces”-grower being kicked off his land to how she ended up with the same set of teeth since 1930, how could we do anything but read, read, and read (and want!) some more?
Olive’s blog is beautiful and inspiring, and if you don’ t contract a severe case of warm fuzzies from seeing how much she enjoys life, well, I doubt you’re human. It would be wonderful if more of our elders follow Olive’s lead and record their thoughts on this international forum; too much oral history has already been lost.
And especially during a time of war, we could all use a course in real human history.
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[tags]olive riley, world’s oldest blogger[/tags]
14 Beans of Wisdom to “sharing a wonderful discovery”
Michelle Kaminsky is an American attorney-turned-freelance writer who lived in her family's ancestral village in Calabria, Italy for 15 years. This blog is now archived.
Calabria Guidebook
Recipes
Wow, she sounds like an amazing woman, doesn’t she? I’m on my way over to check out her “blob”!
Thanks for your comment on my blog!
Wow, what a fascinating woman. Thanks for sharing!
Wow wow wow wow wow . . . I love it. I started my own blog with written words from my deceased grandma called “Grandma’s Diary” and it’s similar but my grandma was born in the late 20’s, not the late 1800s. What a story! I am going to definitely link her as I want to hear her words. These are LIVING words. How amazing.
Happy blogging!
my two blogs:
http://wordsofgrandma.blogspot.com
http://purple-valley.blogspot.com
Thanks for sharing…I’ll be checking her out too!
Thank you for introducing us to Olive, I haven’t been to her “blob” yet, but I definitely will.
I visit an elderly lady (well she’s only 88 so in comparison with Olive she’s a spring chicken) once a week as part of a volunteer scheme. Her stories are fascinating, and I feel honoured that she wants to share them with me. It’s a shame that so many amazing experiences are lost because we don’t take the time to stop and listen.
Hope you’re having a lovely weekend.
Listening is everything, isn’t it? I went to hear Olive and I hope she digs up even more stories that leave us mouth open. The teeth! Argh!
What a fantastic and inspiring link; thanks for the tip!!
I also have had a grand visit. I had a great chuckle over “bleeding expresso”…such drama that I adore. 🙂
Buon giorno! Mi chiama Alessia, e io habitato in Italia per quattro anni – milenovacentosetantauno – milenovacentosetantacinque, quando sono in liceo.
I have probably totally profaned the Italian language there, but it’s been 32 years since I left Naples – where I went to high school.
Found you through the party – it’s going on at my place as well!
Thanks for the link to Olive’s blob!
God bless.
Ci vediamo!
How wonderful! Thank you for introducing me to her blog!
Thanks for dropping by. Isn’t Olive just the greatest? I’m looking forward to getting to know you better. Anyone who likes Olive has to be okay… lol.
Have a great week.
WOW! Thak you so much for posting about Olive!!!
I have put a post on my “blob” as well for people to go read her.
I love it!
What a treasure… thanks so much for pointing us in that direction!
Thank you sooooo much for letting us know about Olive!!!! She is a blessing indeed.
You are right – it would be wonderful if more of the older generations were introduced to this medium so that we can treasure their stories and learn from their lives.
That is a very cool blog. I love it when she calls it a “blob”. Makes me smile! Nice to meet you and come by my blog!