You'll probably find that PCs are not as intimidating as you thought. A second place to play with computers is at the New Bern library. They recently added several new PCs with access to both the Internet and the card catalog. After messing around with PCs and finally deciding to buy one inquire of your computer literate friends what to look for. Also check basic PC courses at the college that beginners take.
Most courses have no charge for seniors.
And don't forget to join the New Bern Computer Users Group where all newcomers show up. Well, you may have a good reason, especially if your PC is very old, not fast and with little memory. If you received a new PC for Christmas or within the past few years it will likely have everything you need to get on the Internet. There's now ten of them that offer local numbers to dial into. Don't subscribe to services that appear on your PC's desktop such as Compuserve, AOL or Microsoft Network unless you don't mind making toll calls for every connection.