I teach in a local retirement home elderly the use of PC's. A lot of older people like the email and not a lot of spam. I don't teach them AOL I teach them the basics and the net.
However, the retirement center has a variety of AOL accounts they offer to their residents, so I do teach AOL.
I would suggest you teach him without the use of AOL, once he gets a bit better on the net he can go to AOL. Show him/her how to work outlook express. Trust me he will thank you for it.
Explain the difference between AOL and the whole wide world of the Internet, show him/her chatrooms for senior citizens. Local Church gatherings and stuff. They will enjoy that a lot more.
Show around for a local ISP. Maybe his phone company offers some deal, Internet access plus phone service. MCI ATT and Spring already have it.
Prepare yourself for many hours of explaining how to get the pictures of their grandkids on the background and as screensavers LOL
