Denise Clark is a retired school teacher who still works as a substitute.
When Covid hit and her high school switched to remote learning, it was hard for her, for all the normal reasons.
But also, like lots of older people, she wasn't so great on computers.
Ditto for her friend Pearl, who was another substitute at that school who Denise would do crossword puzzles with in the faculty lounge.
Pearl also not so great on the computers.
And Pearl was a decade older than denise, in her mid-70s.
She always told me, can you help me?
She thought I was good at it, so she always wanted me to help her.
I really wasn't the best person.
It took a while for me to learn.
To tell you the truth, you know, you think if you're 75 and your job completely changes, you might call it quits.
But Pearl was adamant she was going to learn to work on the computer.
And when she got stuck, she wasn't shy to call in help from the IT guy or the assistant principal or really whoever she could find.
I had to tip my hat to her if I had one, because she would keep.
That's the thing I like about her, she'd ask questions.
She was doing better than some of us.
And Pearl, she kept up with it.
You know, she didn't know somebody.
She had some difficulties.
What kind of difficulties was she having?