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In Part 1, we discussed how reverse mortgage professionals can distance themselves from technology overload. In terms of the “chronologically gifted”, however, the opposite is now true: reverse mortgage-aged adults are embracing technology, and aging itself, in ways that may surprise and delight you.

Germany has its collective finger on the pulse of positive aging, both in terms of relevant humor, such as this brief video about creative use of an iPad, and low-tech “apps” for positive aging. Maturity has never looked as good as it does in this senior calendar.

Age is no barrier to learning, with the right attitude. My lifelong friend Ellie, now 100-plus, learned to use a computer at age 90, when one of her nieces brought over her old machine, dialed Ellie into AOL and gave her some lessons. My friend persevered, and at 91 she sent me her first email.

More recently, my dad, a self-described “last Luddite”, has begun experimenting with my brother’s old laptop — also at nearly 90. After my sibling hooked everything up, he tutored Dad and challenged: “Anyone who can complete the New York Times crossword puzzle can master a computer!” My father studied the manual and soon reported he was looking up places online that he’d visited decades ago and my, how they’d changed. I smiled in happy shock.

But, Dad lamented, there was no manual to learn about the Internet. I searched Amazon and sent him Is This Thing On? A Computer Handbook for Late Bloomers, Technophobes, and the Kicking and Screaming, which seems tailor-made for techno-resistant elders. Yet the joke was on me: when I called to make sure he’d received the book, my father said, “Oh, did you send that? I couldn’t imagine why I was getting another copy.” He’d bought the identical book two years ago through mail order (so he was contemplating computers!) and is just starting to read it. Who knew?

Finally, public speaking coach Lee Glickstein, who launched his now-global business in his late 40s, has come fully into his own at 70, as this birthday parody demonstrates.

When you’re aged to perfection like these chronologically gifted examples, technology can be the perfect resource to expand your horizons (or your, ah, culinary skills). Any of these video or resource links may prove useful with reverse mortgage clients or prospects who evince interest in technology but think it’s either too difficult (or that they’re “too old”) to learn.