Some of you younger Gentle Readers (if I have any) may be wondering what that instrument I'm playing was.
Here's your first (and only) clue.
Actually the typewriters in my high school typing class didn't have power cords.
They were called manual typewriters and relied on a bit more force to make an imprint.
That's a habit I never got over and I still pound away on my poor computer's keyboard.
Certainly glad I took that high school typing class! Who knew we would be on computers a zillion hours a day?
ReplyDeleteOne of the more useful classes I took....sophomore year, I believe. And it was also manual typewriters. One thing that has plagued me since is I got into the habit of resting my finger for a moment on a key, deciding it was the wrong one, moving it to the correct key. When I started using electric one's I think I supported the correction fluid industry.
ReplyDeleteI sure don't miss that little eraser pencil with the brush on the end!
ReplyDelete35 WPM! Ok, 15 if you counted errors. Imagine what I could have done with an electric!
ReplyDeleteI knew exactly what that machine was. I guess that tells you something. It's funny you should mention the Chicago Art Museum lions, just yesterday I was wondering if they had Cubs hats on their heads. They always get into the spirit of the season!
ReplyDeleteWe had one electric typewriter in our class, and we took turns using it. I remember a long string of ffffffffffffffffffffffff after I put my fingers on the keys the first time - ha!
ReplyDeleteUnderwood manual is what we had in typing class.
ReplyDeleteSteve
Great memory post. Glad I suffered through typing class. Remember pounding the manual so all 7 pages of copy, each backed by a piece of carbon paper, would be rendered well enough to read by the director, audio person, producer, floor director, teleprompter operator and the anchor talent. We had a few staff who were masters at ripping the script books apart and laying them in the color coded piles.
ReplyDeleteI was terrible at typing and still hunt and peck at the keyboard.
ReplyDeleteMy mother had an electric one, but the only places I've seen manual typewriters have been museums.
ReplyDeletea couple people here, me included, now feel very, very old.
Deleteprobably because we are....
William, you're way too young! :^D
DeleteAh, I loved my old portable Olivetti typewriter! Wish I still had it.
ReplyDeleteAs for your haircut...it looks almost exactly like the one I have now, apart from the sideburns.
Manual typewriters, grade 7. I got a C because I was trying so hard, but I made more mistakes than correct letters. At least I can do touch typing, home keys and all that. Had an electric one in college, which helped, since there was a delay and I caught a number of the errors before it printed. Computers were my salvation. Then doing NANOWRIMO, so much typing it finally improved my accuracy, somewhat. Still not very good.
ReplyDeleteI do remember typing class in high school and I've always been glad that I took that class. I remember how thrilled I was when my mom bought a new Smith-Corona electric typewriter.
ReplyDeleteI do remember manual ones, first electric ones and first computers where we had to type at least five characters in a row for the next line of text!
ReplyDeleteYou have such a good collection of private pictures.