Bill and Stu Take On the World
By Marji James
Hubba hubba, watch what happens on-line! Oldsters and youngsters alike mingle in a mostly Mensa mosh without regard for any of the barriers of age, gender or national origin that we encounter in 3-D. Virtual reality reigns, and Bill Brown holds the reins! Mensans may argue themselves blue in the face about esoteric things, like how many angels can dance on the head of a pin and where precisely the center of the universe is. For more than 80 Mensans and friends in 30 countries who subscribe to an on-line forum known as Thinkers International/Bill’s Digest, the hub of the universe is Richwood, Ohio. [While this endeavor is run by Mensans, it is not an official Mensa project and accepts non-Mensan participants. — M.M.]
That’s right, for these fortunate people, the hub of the world is a village in the midwestern United States in which Bill Brown, 70, conceived, created and manages daily an on-line forum that blends incoming messages into outgoing digests for all those who contact him and ask to be included.
Before going on-line in February 1997, Bill had a lively correspondence via “snail mail” with several Russian friends and others around the world. In search of yet more friends, Bill cranked up his computer and went on-line with his longtime correspondent Stu Lucas in New Jersey. Next, Bill contacted Oktay Ahmed, 29, a founder of Mensa Macedonia. From that point, the Digest grew like Topsy, thanks in part to a favorable comment in the International Journal by Therese Moodie-Bloom (editor of Mensa’s International Journal and chair of Mensa Australia, as well as a contributor to Bill’s Digest). Therese alerted Mensans worldwide to an opportunity to mingle on-line with Bill’s Thinkers.
After one year of multiple daily digests containing comments on political and social doings, as well as speculation on UFOs and the possibility of space travel spanning the galaxy, the fellowship is still growing.
As a member of Thinkers International, I find it truly remarkable to hear from people all over the world on matters of current interest, ranging from Diana to Hussein to Mensa as Mensa is experienced all over the world. Several of the Thinkers on this forum, including the youthful founder of Mensa Macedonia, live in the Middle East. Their insights have been invaluable to many of us, in terms of shedding light on cultural factors controlling matters, like the case of the British nurses tried for murder in Saudi, for instance, and other matters that are not even topics of U.S. news. This is a rich experience for all participants.
This is not a tale of technology so much as it is a tale of two men whose lifespan of 70 years enriches the lives of those who enjoy their company on Bill’s Digest, as all together we ride the crest of the technological wave that carries us into the future.
The 1998 Annual Gathering in Cincinnati, Ohio — July’s Buckeye Bonanza — may be a happening for Bill Brown from upstate Ohio and his cohort Stu Lucas from New Jersey. Stu plans to travel to Ohio, where he and Bill may meet in person after some years of correspondence and mutual admiration. Quite a few subscribers to Bill’s Digest are already talking of meeting, too, and arguing about who will travel the farthest. Many will make the trip to see what e-mail cannot show of their on-line friends, ranging in age from 18 to more than 70. Be sure to stop by to say “Hi!” to Bill and Stu (who will be wearing either a piratical eye patch or a monocle) at the Thinkers International World Gathering on July 4, during the AG, and check out the Thinkers’ Web pages at http://www.coil.com/ ~dsmith/thinkers/ .
Stu, who
manages the digest’s multiple daily transmissions,
demurs when asked to tell how he has played a part
in assisting and urging Bill on in his never-ending
battle with technology and the vagaries of various
servers. Bill, however, says that “Stu is more than
someone to bounce ideas off of. He furnished essential
hardware and books to learn from, and wisely started
his [humor] list to attract the ‘spam’ that might otherwise
have destroyed this forum. He is, in my view, an equal
partner.”
That’s
the byword for any glitch that befalls anyone connected
with Bill’s Digest. The digest emanates from Richwood,
Ohio, as e-mail to thinkers all over the world — except
for those messages that are lost or fouled or otherwise
sidetracked by Stu.
When Bill’s computer
is on the fritz, Stu carries on and keeps the mail
flowing to subscribers. Although self-effacing and
claiming only to run a lesser and somewhat raunchy
humor publication, Stu can be blamed for egging on
Bill in the creation of the Digest. Indeed, Stu quite
cheerfully accepts blame for missing messages and minor
mishaps however trivially associated with the Digest
or with anyone who participates in the forum. Can we
blame him for El Niño? Most assuredly.
Part of the joy
of being a subscriber is that one never knows what
one will find on opening the latest Digest from Bill
— whimsy erupts in the midst of chat worldwide about
political unrest and taxation and simple life issues
that face all of us. On a slow day, Bill is likely
to treat his subscribers to tales of his youth spent
wandering the U.S. There’s lots of good material there
and he’s a wonderful storyteller. He’s taken us deep
into a drippy molybdenum mine in Colorado, where the
air is booming with explosions every few minutes and
where few men had the courage to stay for long without
losing their nerve. His writing is quite readable,
being written by a man of good humor (notwithstanding
his forbidding mien in his photo) who enjoyed tramping
about the western United States at various occupations
between 1944 and 1972.
Just as fearlessly
as Bill lived his life on the edge, between age 16 and
44, so does he share with his readers today his memories
of what he saw and thought during those years. Remarkable
writing!
I
think
the reason this tale of two mature Mensans having a
ball with their computers and e-mail tickles me is
that these two are only a decade younger than my own
father, who keeps purchasing computers and then returning
them because they “don’t do e-mail!” Yes, he’s on his
third computer now.
My appreciation
for two e-mail friends is also flavored by my own difficulty
in getting on board this information superhighway into
the future. I’m struggling to wriggle out of this cocoon
of a technologically challenged pupa to become a free-flying
inhabitant of the world Net resources waiting behind
my keyboard. When I get ready to transmogrify from
pupa to pupil, there are many ready teachers on Bill’s
Digest to lead me (and anyone else) to a higher level
of expertise.
That’s a large
part of why I thought it was natural that this tale
would appeal to the readers of the Bulletin,
many of whom are as old as I am, some of whom are even
as old as Bill and Stu <g>. We are all of us challenged
by new technology of some sort these days. Some of
us welcome the challenge and make it work for us. That
is what I see happening with Bill and Stu as Bill’s
Digest continues to grow and prosper.
As 80 or so Mensans
and friends worldwide can testify, Bill Brown’s Digest
— aka Thinkers International — is yet another hobby,
one that consumes hours of Bill’s time. If you are
interested in growing with Bill’s Thinkers, drop a
line to
bilbrown@imetweb.net
today. And if you are feeling your oats, kind of frisky
and a tad wicked, you might try Stu’s humor string:
StuLucas@aol.com
.
Marji James,
P.O. Box 294, Tustin, CA 92781-0294;
ZerendipT@aol.com
Bill Brown,
125 West Ottawa, Richwood, OH 43344;
bilbrown@imetweb.net
--
From the May 1998 Mensa Bulletin. Reprinted with permission.
740-943-2512
bilbrown@imetweb.net, bilbrown@imetweb.net
Thinkers International World Gathering, 4 July 1998 at Mensa AG
Thinkers Web Page:
http://www.coil.com/~dsmith/thinkers/