Oh, yeah? Well, I once met the president of FSC!

A Spanish woman who described herself as the world's oldest blogger died recently at the age of 97. (Story: here.) According to Maria Amelia Lopez's side of the story, her grandson is stingy and built a blog as a birthday gift for her 95th birthday. Personally, I think the guy was just hedging his bets at that point. Buying granny anything costing more than $20 at her age is asking for trouble.

Apparently her blog was hosted by blogger/blogspot, as we are. It's as if our own grandma has died, except there's no uncomfortable wake or funeral we have to attend. So that's a plus. Her blog is a good read if you can read Spanish, or if you're just looking to get in touch with your Spanish side and have a little blogging siesta. She even puts a picture of herself up on her main page, showing her in a snazzy periwinkle blue scarf. I think that's the key to a successful blog: stylish photos of its writers wearing dashing scarves. (I'm working on getting Marcy and McCarthy to wear some scarves, just so you readers can feel like we're equally debonair in our neckwear.)

As an added bonus, she also often went on her webcam to give her views on issues of the day. From the looks of them, she did these videos late at night by the glow of a desk lamp, as if she has a secret she wants to tell you, or to show you how the Unabomber worked successfully for so long. (Side note: in these videos she wears a satin pink scarf. Again with the rakish neckwear.) I'll attach a video, though I haven't a clue what she's talking about. My Spanish skills are weaker than the coffee you get at McDonalds. But I'm wagering that since she was about 97 years old when she posted this that she wasn't dropping F-bombs or threatening Fitchburg State College. Just a wild hunch.



Ms. Lopez also met Spanish Prime Minister Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero once, who visited her at her home. Clearly, this was a power grab by the Prime Minister. We all know the elderly vote in higher numbers than college kids. An elderly grandma who has a grasp of the internet? That's dangerous to any politician. But, hey, we bloggers really know how to woo the powerful men in the world. I once met the president of FSC before. Pres. Antonucci even replied to a few of my emails. I'm not saying I have the cache of Ms. Lopez. All I'm saying is that I'm 70 years younger than her and I'm already meeting people in positions of power, so she's behind the curve a little here. Though I'll admit I can't hold a candle to her on my scarf-wearing abilities.

Still, there's something endearing about Maria Amelia Lopez. Getting in touch with so many people revitalized her. It made her happy to wake up every morning. Although, according to Ms. Lopez, running the blog "took 20 years off my life." Tell me about it, sister. The Toolbox will make a martyr of me by the time I'm 40.