Today I watched a segment of Good Sunday Morning on CBS, where they showed typewriters. Some kids today probably don't even know what a typewriter is. Well, apparently they may find out. It seems they are making a come-back, with some folks, anyway. If that's true, I'm one step up on them. I haven't gotten rid of my old portable electric, Olivetti-Underwood yet. Neither has my husband....his is a manual portable, and the only keyboard he'll have any part of. (For the record, I've also still got my Brother word processor, which I've barely used. I think I'll find that thing, and set it up, just for fun.)
I've spotted a few ancient versions of typing machines while scouring my favorite haunts for good old stuff. No, I don't mean 'ancient' as in the kind I learned on in high school. I mean earlier than that! I suppose, though, that one might consider those heavy, standard models as ancient, but I'm in denial that I'm that old. I'd love to find one that is similar to one that was owned by my husband's uncle when he was a foreign correspondent during WWII. It was high and rather narrow, black and made of metal which weighed a ton. So far, those have been out of my price range.
I love that people have taken an interest in the things of old. I, myself, have begun to collect photos of things used by my grandparents, so that I can introduce my grandkids to them. I doubt very much that they've seen a telephone without pushbuttons, let alone one like my grandparents had without a dial! I'm sure they don't know what a cookstove heated by coal or wood looks like. They've seen my collection of flat irons and wash boards, but I'll bet they wouldn't know what to do with them! (for that matter, would they know what an outside clothesline is?
There was once a song called, "Everything Old is New Again." I doubt that we'll ever return to all the old things for use in every day living. We've come to far for that. We all want time savers and instant gratification. We're too busy, or too lazy, to embark on a 'back to the future' adventure. Too bad. There were a good many things 'back in the day' that were better for us. Bicycles, treadle machines, wash board scrubbing and bending to pick up wash to be hung on the line, for example. Think of the muscles! Think of the energy used! Who would need a gym if we did those things ourselves instead of relying on machines to do the work?
I bought an old Underwood manual typewriter a few years ago--just because it is what I learned to type on 50 years ago. I am glad if they are making a comeback. I'm also a fountain pen girl. ;)
ReplyDeleteMy sister has a wonderful old manual typewriter. Dad brought it home from the dump back in the day and repaired it. My sister saved it for that very reason. It now sits atop a desk my father owned as a child.
ReplyDeleteI always tell these youngsters,if you work,you don't need the gym !
Rake the leaves,mow the grass with a push mower( reel type for advanced users),walk.