Tuesday, May 22, 2012

My Typewriter


Remember back to the dark ages, before word processors and computers? Was everything handwritten?  No. We  had offset printing but we didn’t have printing presses at home. Instead, we had typewriters. We always had at least one at home, given my Dad sold typewriters and my Mom was a high school business teacher who taught typing. She was also an accountant. So I grew up with typewriters and typed all my book reports and research papers required in high school on the family typewriter. It was harder to turn out a paper with no mistakes when using a typewriter because, unlike word processors and computer programs, editing was much harder. There was a white ink ribbon you could insert and type over the mistake but you could always tell. And White Out ink always showed up too. You tended to use a lot of bad language when you typed, mistakes were common. I can’t tell you how many times I pulled a sheet of paper out of the roller and started all over again. I’m glad we now have easier ways to produce book reports and research papers. But I will never throw away my typewriter.

It’s in my car, ready for its next move to Tomahawk. My Dad gave me this typewriter the summer of 1963, prior to my starting nursing school. We were expected to have a typewriter in school. We wrote lots of papers, and while handwritten papers were accepted in high school, they were not accepted in college.

This typewriter has made every move with me. I seldom use it anymore but I will never part from it. It was a gift from my Dad. Need I say more?


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