I figured out to use vi and on another board someone recommended I try mcedit or nano as they are both easier than vi. thanks for the responses everyone.
BTW if anyone is looking to try another lightweight distro for older/slower machines I recommend Vector Linux, besides this mouse thing it was very easy to install and works surprisingly fast on my machine, Packard Bell Multimedia 730 PII 266 w/48mb RAM.
thanks again
Dj