Ode to a Typewriter

Well I know it has been a while since my last blog, like five months or something.  And I could try and explain by saying how busy I’ve been.  But that would be a lie.  I have been very un-busy.  O.k. that is not entirely true, July and August where pretty busy months for me.   I was getting a new apartment, packing, moving, praising the Lord that I no longer live with the idiot twins anymore, etc.  But the last couple months have been pretty quiet.  It’s nice.  I have been catching up on 4 ½ years of books, movies, and T.V. shows that I was too busy to read/watch while I was in school.

Anyway you’re probably wondering about the title of my blog.  “Let me explain…no there is too much, let me sum up.”  Anybody get that quote?  If you didn’t, I can no longer speak to you.  And you should stop reading right now, because nothing I say will ever make to sense to you.  It was from The Princess Bride by the way, but if you’re still reading you already knew that.  But I digress.  My mom has been de-cluttering her house, which means trying to get me to take all the stuff she no longer wants.  And one of these things was her old typewriter.  I was actually very glad to take this off her hands.  This is the typewriter I used to sneak out of her closet and mess with.  Until she finally told me I could put it in my room.  I love that typewriter.  I would sit for hours typing any random thought that came into my head.  I started so many stories, and wrote so much nonsense.  Those were good times. 

So tonight I finally got it out of its case and set it up on my little table (another item mom gave me by the way).  I’d forgotten how much fun it was to type on that thing.  I started giggling after the first sentence.  Is there anything more fun that typing on a typewriter?  I don’t think there is.  It is so much more fun than typing on a computer.  The keyboard is much harder to press on, it takes so much more effort, but it’s so worth it.  The keys make such a fun sound when you hit them with your fingers, and man will it give your fingers a workout.  And then the best part, the little “ding” when you get to the end of a row.  Now if your computer makes noise it usually means something bad has happened, an error of some kind.  But a typewriter can never get a virus, or freeze right in the middle of some important task, and since mine is manual it doesn’t matter if the electricity or the internet goes out.  Does it take more concentration?  Do you actually need to know how to spell words?  Yes, but is that a bad thing?  I don’t think it is.  It is just so satisfying to have a thought and be able to immediately put it on paper.  It is completely different from a computer.  Because after you type something on a computer, you first have to save it, then turn on your printer, load the paper, hit print, say a prayer that it actually gets sent to the printer and that you have enough ink, and then and only then will your thoughts appear on paper.

I know, I know, I’m a big nerd for thinking a typewriter is so cool.  But so what?  I’m a nerd, I freely admit that.  And now this big nerd is going to go and sit in a comfortable chair and read my nice leather bound edition of Sherlock Holmes.  That’s right I’m going to go read.  Jealous?