Snow is falling here in a darkened, hushed Sunday, and my computer is like a warm crackling fire that I gaze into. I can remember a time when I said I would never have one of those things in my home. But the ferris wheel of life just keeps turning and there are different thoughts at different stages.

I am now sixty years-old and disabled. Domestic violence ended my former life and left me in a closed-in world. I have been Free and Safe now for ten years, and only in the last six have I managed to create a world for me.

A church that came here to bring lunches once a month gifted me with a retiring computer. I was scared to death of it at first. For a week I left it running, sure that if I turned it off, I would never get it back on again. It was slow learning and for the most part I taught myself, being one of those hands-on learners.

My computer is the best thing that ever happened to me. It has been a miracle and more. For people who are agoraphobic, unable to walk, have illness that sap their strength, the computer is a blessing. At first I spent hours just surfing and soaking up knowledge. Then there were the games, some of which are now old friends, like