Just like being there

Posted December 4th, 2006 at 7:10 am by Nicki Dugan, Blog Editor

Number of Comments 2 Comments / Filed in: Our Users

What do you do when your father’s arthritis prevents him from attending your sister’s backyard wedding? Haul out your webcam, position it outside your sib’s home office on a tripod, pray for the wind to die down, and fire up Yahoo! Messenger.

That’s what Jessica Greenhood recently did for her sister’s wedding. After learning her father wasn’t up for the trek from Florida to the Midwest, Jessica investigated ways to capture the nuptials for him. She had an old camcorder, but its battery was defunct. Finding a replacement battery in Miller, Kansas (pop: 12 houses), proved a distinct challenge, and a new camera was more than Jessica could afford.

Remembering how effective her Yahoo! Messenger webcam had been for monitoring her family’s shop after-hours, she MacGyver-ed together a low-tech, low-cost solution that brought the ceremony to her father — and tears to his eyes.

“I’m a kid in a candy store with Yahoo! Messenger. I’ve been using it for years to communicate with family and friends. Everyone lives so far away — can you say big phone bill? I’ve always found it really easy to use. Even here in Kansas, where I’m on dial-up that really only gets speeds of 24.4K,” she said.

Thanks for writing with your story, Jessica. And congratulations, Naomi and Eric!

Nicki Dugan
Editor, Yodel Anecdotal

2 Comments Add your own

Comment Down Pillow | April 16th, 2008 at 8:06 pm

This is why the internet is so amazing. I remember years ago my wife – then my girlfriend said why was I going to specialize in that field. HA! What a great use of technology solving an issue.

Comment Jessica | March 28th, 2009 at 12:38 pm

Ok I knew about this story but didn’t know if they did it or not. LOL. Found it just by googling my name!

I’m so glad I found it!