I don’t speak. All I do is write. If you are sitting next to me, I’ll hand you a note. My rational is that it gives people a chance to think before they respond. I do run the risk of having them think I’m nuts, but every positive has a negative or something like that. What if no one spoke and we all just wrote? What a quiet world! What a great world if the only sounds were the sounds of nature. What a not- so-great world if you live in a city, then you would have only city sounds like the subway. Now there’s a thought; NYC void of all human speech, just the machine noises—cars, tires, horns, subways. It might be nice. Robbery would go down, and muggings would be less frequent. A tap on the shoulder and someone hands you a note, “Your money or your life.” They can’t spell, it says, “Your meny or your wife.” You’re confused; you don’t have a wife. The whole thing is taking way too long, but you can’t call out for help. He has a gun. He shoots.
I wonder whatever happened to handwriting analysis. For that matter, whatever happened to handwriting? I heard a rumor that they are no longer teaching cursive writing in schools. Truly, the beginning of the end. Everyone wants to print because they don’t need to write, they just use their electronic devices and why waste the paper?
Not to date myself, (no one else is, so why not?) in elementary school I used pens that had a little lever that sucked up the ink. I have enough self-control not to be a hoarder but if I was a hoarder, I would hoard pens. A hoarder with focus is called a Collector. From Parker to Bic, I love them all, such limitless design and style. Antique dealers have collections of fountain pens, but the shape and design are, to my untrained eye, all too similar. Somewhere in the industrial mass production of everything, pens got style. If you doubt the accuracy of this bold statement just stand in front of the pen display at any office supply store. A true tribute to human creativity, second only to shoes, and purses.
Let’s move on to pen’s partner—Paper. I don’t dare say this in front of everyone for fear of being labeled as non-environmentally caring; but I am passionate about paper. I love, love, love paper. I do love trees and I thank them because paper is so great. I am not anti-environment. I am for moderation, the responsible use of trees for paper and well . . . for wood. A healthy restriction on the production of paper products, will enable us to welcome, cherish and appreciate cards, books, and gift wrap. Here are a few of my suggestions for paper conservation.
1. Keep people like me out of the school copy room. I am ashamed. I admit it. The machine has a power of its own and when I want 10 copies, I get 100 and then it won’t stop and now there are 1000 but the format is wrong; so, I have to do it again.
2. All bills, notices, and final statements need to be eliminated. Waste. Waste. Waste. What a waste.
3. Advertising via mail needs to be banned. Simply put, “Don’t call us, we’ll call you,” unless you have coupons.
I miss stationary shops with shelves of colored papers and rows of creative cards.
I don’t want email greetings, (although I send them.) I want a card I can hold, and open and save in a real box that has a latch and not a click.
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