Typewriting

One of the best things I got out of high school was learning to touch-type — thank goodness computer keyboards carried forward the QWERTY system. Still serving me this very moment!

I got an electric with custom font and it served me through many college papers, and after. I got my first computer (Radio Shack Model I) in 1978. I did not yet have a word processing program for it.

I was typing up a long document with four carbon copies. I was a fast typist, but not all that careful all the time. Make a mistake? Go back and white-out the copies, waiting for each to dry thoroughly. Especially tedious when I just want to carry on with my typed thoughts. Making several such mistakes, I kept looking over at the computer and thinking about how a word processor program would let me simply backspace over errors and print out multiple copies.

Then, somewhere around page five, I realized I’d left out a whole paragraph back on page 2. To be tidy, I’d need to re-type page 2 and beyond. I lost my temper and beat my fist on the top of the typewriter. Keys went “clack” but didn’t hit the paper.

I sent the typewriter to the shop for a cheap simple fix of bending the top up; I probably could’ve done it myself. By the time I got it back, I had written my own word processing program. Also acquired the Worst Printer Ever — printed difficult-to-read black on thermal silver paper. (You may remember some merchants had those for receipts back then.)

I never used Old Faithful again.

Eventually got a better commercial word processor and a hefty and expensive Daisy Wheel printer (a/k/a The Thunderer) which churned out more pages than the electric ever did. Never regretted the upgrade.

Still have the electric and also a manual. Need to find some ribbons for them, though. Just in case computers fail.