Of Pens and Inks and Writing Things and "Cabbages and Kings"...
Have you ever noticed that not all pens are created equally? That some pens actually inhibit your ability to write as nicely as you'd desire?
I used to hand-write a lot of letters. A lot. When my dh and I were "dating" (he lived in Missouri and I lived in Canada) we wrote at least one letter a day...all handwritten. I did have a typewriter and access to a computer - but I always felt like letters needed to be written by hand. I didn't even think I'd be able to compose a letter while typing it (maybe like walking and chewing gum?)...plus I felt like a type written letter was cold and impersonal.
Over the years I worked on my cursive script - and I had plenty of practice. And as far as I can remember my pen of choice was always a ballpoint pen with a with a "fine" tip. Pens with a medium tip or just a regular tip, I found, interfered with my writeability. The "flow" just wasn't the same.
Lately though I've been liking rollerball ink pens for the little handwriting that I still do. My handwriting has suffered much to my chagrin. I hate making a mistake - even with just one letter looking "off" when I'm using a pen instead of a computer. And though I like the liquid-ish-ness of the ink from the rollerball...the "flow" of a ballpoint pen is missing...it's like the rollerball moves too swiftly across the page.
And speaking of cursive - is anyone else bothered by the inability to get certain letters looking "just right?" My handwriting today looks nothing like the "proper" way cursive should look - so I'm not meaning that - but there are certain cursive letters I HATE writing b/c I just can't get them to look the way I want them to look. For instance - capital cursive G and H...and then there are letters I LOVE to write b/c I love how they look - for instance capital cursive E, I, L and S (L and S are my initials prior to marriage - so I think I got lots of practice perfecting those letters).
And how about this - does cursive really matter in this age of computers? I guess I'm not too picky about my children's handwriting b/c I figure that especially by the time they are of high school age (or earlier) - handwriting will be almost obsolete.
"The time has come," the Walrus said,
Have you ever noticed that not all pens are created equally? That some pens actually inhibit your ability to write as nicely as you'd desire?
I used to hand-write a lot of letters. A lot. When my dh and I were "dating" (he lived in Missouri and I lived in Canada) we wrote at least one letter a day...all handwritten. I did have a typewriter and access to a computer - but I always felt like letters needed to be written by hand. I didn't even think I'd be able to compose a letter while typing it (maybe like walking and chewing gum?)...plus I felt like a type written letter was cold and impersonal.
Over the years I worked on my cursive script - and I had plenty of practice. And as far as I can remember my pen of choice was always a ballpoint pen with a with a "fine" tip. Pens with a medium tip or just a regular tip, I found, interfered with my writeability. The "flow" just wasn't the same.
Lately though I've been liking rollerball ink pens for the little handwriting that I still do. My handwriting has suffered much to my chagrin. I hate making a mistake - even with just one letter looking "off" when I'm using a pen instead of a computer. And though I like the liquid-ish-ness of the ink from the rollerball...the "flow" of a ballpoint pen is missing...it's like the rollerball moves too swiftly across the page.
And speaking of cursive - is anyone else bothered by the inability to get certain letters looking "just right?" My handwriting today looks nothing like the "proper" way cursive should look - so I'm not meaning that - but there are certain cursive letters I HATE writing b/c I just can't get them to look the way I want them to look. For instance - capital cursive G and H...and then there are letters I LOVE to write b/c I love how they look - for instance capital cursive E, I, L and S (L and S are my initials prior to marriage - so I think I got lots of practice perfecting those letters).
And how about this - does cursive really matter in this age of computers? I guess I'm not too picky about my children's handwriting b/c I figure that especially by the time they are of high school age (or earlier) - handwriting will be almost obsolete.
"The time has come," the Walrus said,
"To talk of many things:
Of shoes--and ships--and sealing-wax--
Of cabbages--and kings--
And why the sea is boiling hot--
And whether pigs have wings."
Of shoes--and ships--and sealing-wax--
Of cabbages--and kings--
And why the sea is boiling hot--
And whether pigs have wings."
1 comments:
Love your blog today! I use the same type of pen as you do; however, I find that I have to be careful not to smear the words that I have written...I know what you mean by letters that are a bit off...it is irritating to me as well!My grandfather always used a straight pen for writing and printing and each letter was perfectly formed. Should I return to this method? Hmmm...
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