Remembering When TypeWriters!

While I was typing my post for Americas Voice today, I thought of how great it is to have word processors and spell check. Some of my readers may not remember the days before we had computers and the great tools of modern life. Let me tell you about it, and for those of you that have a few miles on the old bodies, slide back in time with me.

Now according to my best recollection, it was right after the tablets of stone and chisels, no wait I am wrong, it was right after the invention of papyrus, that someone came up with the type writer. They weighed about seventy five pounds and did contribute greatly to the level of fitness in this era, Our arms were much better toned because we had to lug them every where with us. We also had to have at least three reams of paper. The early torture machines, had no way to erase, mistakes. We were left with a pencil looking apparatus, that had a special eraser on one end and a feather looking thing at the other. This was meant to brush away the little pieces of rubber left behind. You could not take the paper out of the typewriter, because when you put it back in, no matter how you tried it never lined up again. We also had to carry a dictionary. Now you could have a small one, but I found that usually the word I wanted was not in the condensed volume, so the best bet was to get a tow truck and have it lift the unabridged Webster Dictionary into the living room. In between writings the family could use it as a couch.

So here we were, all of the material together. The rough draft and all revisions were written in long hand, and with a pen. Now it was time to type. To say that it was any easier then the original Gutenberg press would be an understatement. To type a three page report would consume the equivalent of ten days. Three weeks and four reams of paper later, I would have to go to the local stationary store to get another ream of paper, our non error paper was ready for delivery to the teachers. Have we come a long way since the invention of word processors, oh yeah. Just think, in the old days I would have twenty more days of writing to produce this one little post. That would mean that I would only be able to do five or six of these per year. OK stop demanding I start using a typewriter, because that is not going to happen. You will just have to continue putting up with my rants.