GRANNY SAYS A different kind of advice column BY JESSICA GROSE

When people seek advice in a public forum, the questions tend to drift toward more outlandish matters of the heart and body. As any loyal alt-weekly reader can tell you, most of the queries put to Dan Savage run along the lines of, "I’m into dead girls. Is that okay?" Or, "I like toes. A lot. What should I do?" For those searching for answers to the tamer, more quotidian problems of American life, Doug Meckelson has started a Web site offering advice. What makes Meckelson’s site, www.elderwisdomcircle.org, different is that the questions are answered exclusively by senior citizens.

"The Elder Wisdom Circle was started out of a need I saw," Meckelson writes in an e-mail exchange. "While volunteering for various senior services, I noticed that there was very little in the way of mentally stimulating activities." Meckelson began organizing the Web site in 2001, and by September 2003, the Walnut Creek, California-based EWC was up and running, ready to answer questions on a variety of subjects.

A swift perusal of the "featured letters" section shows the kind of questions asked of the collected "elders," who come from all parts of the country. Anyone over 60 can be an elder, says Meckelson, but the EWC is specifically looking for people "with a strong desire to help others, non-judgmental, able to offer options that help lead the person to make the right decision for themselves, and of course, good writers are always appreciated."

People of all ages write in with queries about everything ranging from aggressive foot odor to self-mutilation. The proffered advice is straightforward and seems to be coming from advisers who really care. "Wash with anti-bacterial soap," says an elder whose tag is "Helen" to ol’ trench foot, "but remember to always consult your doctor if the problem is serious." "Helen" also gives surprisingly matter-of-fact counsel to a 17-year-old who says she’s been cutting herself for three years. "Find an adult you can trust," she writes. "If you can’t speak directly to the adult, maybe you can write about what you’re doing in a letter or a journal that the adult can read. The important thing is to talk to someone who can help you to stop the behavior and deal with your underlying problems."

Though many of the Elder responses are peppered with words like "dear" or "sweetheart," and some of the adults have tags like "Bulldogger," once you get past a cynical distrust of flowery language, the site does meet its stated goals. "[One] of our purposes," says Meckelson, "is to alter societies (sic) view of our seniors. We need others to start sharing the idea of asking Grandma and Grandpa what they think — What is your take on this issue?"

Meckelson is trying to spread the EWC to every community in the country, and Providence is one of his current targets. "In general, the EWC grows by word of mouth and we would like to be represented by people in all the geographic regions," he says. "To a small degree, advice does vary with people, and their life experiences, and the communities in which they live — conservative versus liberal, as an example."

For those skeptical about the quality of advice given by a random sampling of older denizens, Meckleson encourages questions, because, "You don’t have to take the advice, but think of what you have [done] for that senior to even ask? And who knows, they might just teach you something." So the next time I wonder about my nasty snoring problem, I know where to go for some sound and caring advice.