I’m embarrassed to admit this, but I remember a time before the personal computer. I got a plastic manual typewriter for my 10th birthday and an electric one when I turned 14. My first computer came when I was 23 and I migrated to a laptop around 26. But even with all that changing technology, one writing device has remained constant. The Pen.
I’ve never been that into the ball-point variety; I’m more of a rollerball girl. So I was really happy when #43 gave me a beautiful pen as a going away present. It was faux retro and blue. I loved it. It had just the right amount of heft and came with a fitted wooden box. I used that pen for years. Still have it, but now it’s in the back of my pen drawer. Yes, I have an entire drawer full of pens.
I was in Charleston, South Carolina with Ex-husband #2 when he bought me a blown glass calligraphy pen. It is green and white and the tip is also made of glass. It came with blue ink, which I promptly opened and knocked over. (Luckily, it was on a notebook and didn’t stain the table, only my fingers). While I only used the pen once, to write an “I Love You” note to Ex-Husband #2, it was a nice gift and a lasting one. I might not have a marriage, but I still have the pen.
I primarily write on the computer now, even my journal has become virtual. But I still maintain some of my previous adoration for the written word. I edit on paper. Once I write a blog entry, I print it and then get to work. I do an elementary school teacher impression and mark the piece up with a felt tip pen. Today I’m using a red one. If I had to grade this post, I’d give it a D for being chaste and an A for being different
Moral of the story, a good pen never goes out of style; plus it doesn’t need a power cord.