ghosts on the internet

i turn to the pages of google to see what the weather will be in new port rhode island this weekend.

my letter writing days have sadly succomb to the world of email so the ready knowledge of the zip code is not so ready.

i type in my grandparents address: 24 topa blvd to remind myself of the five digits needed to bring me an "accurate" weather forcast.

i find:

US Patent Agents in RI, US14825, ATTORNEY, Louis Applebaum, 401-846-1241, 24 Toppa Blvd Newport, RI 02840 US. 46641, ATTORNEY, Kevin Correll, 401-295-7377, K P Correll & Associates, ...
patents.oncloud8.com/paa/us_patent_agents_in_us_ri.php - 19k - Cached - Similar pages - Note this

my grandfather passed away last year. and his absence in my life remains a ghost. perhaps more so for its ebbing of a generation and a loss of stories and experiences to share with future children.

yet there he is - present in a language that categorizes much of who he was proud to be.

have we begun to talk about life and traces or the internet? would gordon pick up on this as a valuable experience to write toward?