Friday, February 17, 2017

The typewriter


Remember the typewriter?  Can you believe its usefulness is in the past?  Classes to teach typing?  I think there are kids today that can type with their thumbs using ‘their shorthand’ faster than I can on this keyboard.

Remember how important the comma was between the city and state? Periods after your initials? Remember how important capital letters were?


Kids don’t have time to capitalize the first word of a sentence. Then one must ask themselves was it necessary anyway?  (Of course just ask anyone over 60 and they will say ‘Danged right it is necessary, the teacher said it was so!”)

Any of us who wrestled a typewriter to correct spelling remembers very well.


A very serious thing in my mind is how fast ‘Word Processing’ changed. Even the name. No one types anymore. (Except me, this is typing, isn’t it?) It is tough face the fact that you have lived with the manual typewriter, the electric typewriter and the variations of the electric, I can even remember auto correct. Both a roll of correction tape and the typewriter ribbon. Then to the secretary’s dream, the Word processor and beyond.


Attorney’s papers and all legal papers had to be typed ERROR FREE!  Some would not even approve of correction tape.

Anyway I saw some typewriters for sale today and wondered, other than collector’s items they are just old things like me!

I do know a writer, H Jack Darnell, of Coker Creek, Tennessee who still today writes his books on a manual typewriter by the light of a kerosene lamp. TRUE!

I said all that to say, I am thankful for men like Bill Gates who could put this stuff together.  I do not want a penny of his Billions, I certainly do not think he should give me any. I am just enjoying the results of men like Gates using their brain power.

To steal a quote from MA’s yesterday’s Blog of Woodrow Wilson’s: I use all my brain power and all I can borrow!



Nite Shipslog  .




1951 Studebaker

8 comments:

Unknown said...

When I took typing in high school, I was slow because I couldn't be fast AND accurate. Now, I love having that backspace key on the computer; now I can go pell-mell.
I still own an electric typewriter, and I'm not sure whether it's worth donating to the thrift store or whether I should just throw it away.

betty said...

I learned to type of an old typewriter back when I was in 8th grade :) I loved the typing classes in high school, always striving to go faster and get more words per minute. I also remember the ribbons on typewriters that would correct your mistake, etc. Lots have changed over 40 years. I do like the convenience of the present day programs; just erase what you don't want there or move this and that around based on what maybe dictated. I would imagine my line count with accuracy is nowhere where it used to be when I was in high school and didn't have the modern conveniences we have now, but who can resist those modern conveniences?

betty

I'm mostly known as 'MA' said...

So true, I'm very thankful that computers came along. I was able to see the good they did working in an office so much of my life. Now they are part of every day life. Knowing the before and after makes one thankful for sure !

Lisa said...

Oh yes, I remember the manual type writer. I took typing class in school and it was crucial. We had to even sit a proper way and would have points taken off our grade if our wrist touched the desk while typing. White out was a neccesity but when test time came, you didnt get to use white out and every wrong word or punctuation was a point taken off. It was hard! Needless to say, I failed typing class. I spent more time typing my boyfiend love letters.

I still use all fingers except when texting.
Lisa

TARYTERRE said...

Though I love the vintage typewriters of yesteryear... I can't imagine going back to before. I like the new computers.

shirl72 said...

I remember Dad's typewriter where he typed his sermons. He could type fast
using 2 fingers. That always amazed me. I got my typewriter out the other
day and it is on the blink. I was going to type some labels so I just went to copy place and had them type some was cheap. Oh well like you say when things
get old and out of date they stop working that's life.

Dar said...

Years ago, I put my electric typewriter in a garage sale...it never did sell but I recall a little boy asking his mom what it was and how did it work. I guess kids are still a bit curious but I doubt they'd want to go through their lives without computers, laptops and texting. Life sure changes in a short time.
love n' hugs from up north where it reached a sunny, ice-melting day in the mid 50's. I cannot complain.

Mevely317 said...

This evokes so many memories! (I couldn't compose a decent response via tablet with my forefinger.)

Funny how kids think they (me) knew it all. How I fought my parents when they wouldn't let me take Russian (language) and insisted I learn to type! Then, I fought my first sales manager at the station when he said my Selectric typewriter would be replaced with something called a P.c. Change can be darn scary!

Can you only imagine what the next 50-60 years will bring about?