The Importance of Being Paper

It would have been difficult once, to write to you all, on a single sheet of paper, with a pen.  It would have to be copied several times and then posted.  Instead, at more characters per second, I type it and electrons speed across the world so you can read it as soon as we like. 

Paper, pens, ink, lead, graphite, wood, pencils, trees.  Time, light, a desk.  Perhaps an eraser or an ink blotter, maybe some white out for our mistakes.  A dictionary on hand to check our errors.  Envelopes, stamps, glue, once wax.  A walk, a bin, a letter-sized drop.

I used to receive articles in the mail and I think we can all agree that such arrivals are pleasant.  Some of us even talk of renewing the old habit.  I tell you, give me your address, and expect me to share generously my ink with you.  Maybe I actually will.

Notebooks, journals, drafts.  So many things to write in.  And so pretty.  When you buy a notebook now, it's $500 and you have to let it charge every now and then.  Once, you could spend $30 to be lavish.  Such a variety of paper notebooks: I like my purple one.  I'm a very purple man as everything from my shoes to my shirt to my shoulder bag to my gloves to my hair (it still hasn't fallen out after two months) attests: I am fit to be your royal king.  Oh, and not to forget my purple inked pen, which was last used 5 minutes ago.

But I don't use it so much now.  I don't take many notes.  As I told a friend, I don't have a printer.  I've done away with paper.  I use my convertible tablet PC for everything possible, and these days, it works.  I use pens mostly to fill out names and dates or lend to a friend.

And that's why I'm thinking about pens and writing by hand: I've just done data entry on nearly 300 names and e-mail addresses, and I wonder whether two decades ago the writing would have been any more legible.  Perhaps it's a secret pleasure of those who signed their names, to giggle at the thought of me parsing their arcane strokes.  Or perhaps they're out of practise or never really knew how to separate and distinguish their letters.

Penmanship.  Is that still taught in elementary and high school?  I don't mean anything elaborate: our spelling and form was evaluated all the time, with some of the worst feedback I could get at the time being "I can't read this."  It's almost like being told today that my source code does not compile.  Do people still learn to print the letters of the alphabet?  Do they get shown how to add clarity to their digits?  Is cursive handwriting still classy and exciting?  Does anyone have to hand in papers not fresh from a printer?  Maybe add calligraphy to the curriculum and call it art.

My father's writing remains some of the most elegant and neatest I've ever seen.  It's thoughtful and cared for.  I am disappointed that I do not have an instance here to show you.  I will have him write something next weekend and upload it for your viewing pleasure then.  He also taught me how to draw.  He's a great man. 

(Actually, here is a rough example found as the address on an envelope.  It's not smooth, written on a bulky envelope, but you get the idea:)

From my dad to me

I suppose it won't matter soon.  Instead of signing your names inexactly, people will tap a phone to a tablet to register their name, their contact information.  Digital transmission will get your identity perfect.  No more errors.  No more data entry clerks.  Reduce the human responsibility in the system to improve the system.

Well, good night pen.  I will see you in your morning, in the form of the stylus, as I anticipate OCR + tablet devices to make hand writing fashionable again some day, even if not dominant. 

I promise