My Turn: Cellphone? Sorry, wrong number

I'm not someone who still uses a cellphone for talking -- I've never used a cellphone for anything. I still use the kitchen phone hanging on my kitchen wall. It still carries the same number it did 40 years ago. Sometimes, when I'm asked my number, I'll forget and answer, "Sunset one," then realize they are looking for 781.

I enjoy the privacy of not having a cellphone. I don't always want to be "in touch." I enjoy walking the trails around Mill Pond uninterrupted. I enjoy spending an afternoon alone in a darkened movie house.

I'm not familiar with Twitter or tweets, except for the birds in my yard. I can't text because I own no instrument to text with. I don't feel the least bit left behind. My children and grandchildren keep asking, "What if something happens?" I answer, "Well, do what you've always done. Call me, leave a message, and I'll get back to you."

After your 70th birthday, you get away with a lot. The kids will roll their eyes and say, "Well, that's just Mom. She's set in her ways." I just smile and go back to reading a book. A real book.

I'm sure I have company in my old-fashioned communications. We may not be many, but we are still here.

--Valerie Skelly, Bellmore

Queen of all social media

I was into computers long before Windows came on the scene, and I resisted using Windows simply because I could do everything so much faster in MS-DOS. Although it took me a while to embrace Windows, its lure was -- in the end -- irresistible and, of course, it was so much more fun to use than MS-DOS.

My Christmas gift for 1999 from my youngest son, Michael, was "Front Page" -- software, "now-extinct," used for making websites. I was perplexed. I didn't sell anything. So, I asked my son, why would I need to create a website? "Because, Mom," he said, "everyone loves your stories and now you can share them online."

So, not to seem technology-challenged, I created my website -- Maria's Duck Tales -- and actually had a lot of fun -- and frustration -- doing it. Now, remember, back in 2000, almost no one had personal websites and the few that were published were usually very simple in content.

I love to write, so my website was, naturally, very wordy. And it was soon picked up by Yahoo! and put on its directory. And, before long, Maria's Duck Tales was everywhere, and I received emails from animal lovers all over the world. It was quite a trip!

Because I received so many wonderful emails that encouraged me to write my stories in book form, last year I published "Maria's Duck Tales: Wildlife Stories From My Garden." It was a childhood dream come true!

Midway during the publishing process, my publisher told me I had to learn to use social media. It was the way of selling books in the 21st century, she said. I resisted and resisted. I did not want to be available 24/7. In the end, though, I succumbed and I am, shamelessly, now on all social media -- I write a blog, tweet, post pictures to Flickr, have just joined Goodreads [an online social network for avid book readers], and enjoy every minute of it. It's what will keep me young!

My interests are diverse, and I have diverse e-friends. I am passionate about my wildlife garden here on the East End and tweet and am tweeted to by wildlife gardeners across the country. I receive up-to-the-minute news updates from Newsday and The Southampton Press. I learn all about what's new in the publishing and book world in so little time.

So, I guess, you realize that I am HOOKED!

--Maria Daddino, East Quogue