Why Typewriters, Tho!?

My generation are often referred to as "digital natives" because we supposedly gre up with a cellular phone in one hand and a GameBoy im

the other. But I distinctly remember the day we got the internet

in our household; screeching in our perpetually congested hard wired telephone line. Prior to that, I actually sometimes did homework on

a real, physical typewriter. Yes, I've spent a fair amount of my developing years around computers, but I wasn't born to them. I was there when my school carted in a few dozen beige boxes with glowing, bright green monitors and a promise of an equally glowing educational revolution. In truth most of my classmates just spent computer lab time playing Oregon Trail, My favorite thing to do with lab time was wrsghk write short stories and print them out on the behemoth of a dot matrix printer to take home.

Back then, I didn't have much of a filter. It was easy to pour out

ideas about how jimmy dean sausages were made (hint: it's people) without questioning my terrible spelling or sentence structure. As

I've grown older and more accustom to the conveniences of modern word proceswors, my writing has become far sparser and less loose. When you can quickly erase everything you write, it becomes all too eawy %o leave

a writing session with a blank page or a couple of ellipsis, It got

to the point where I ceased writing all together.

Going through my old high school writing prompts, I remembered how

much I used to enjoy writing. The thought of grappling with a piece

of judgemental software once again prevented me from taking the thought any further. Until I remembered my childhood typewriter. As with so many legacy items replaced by software solutions, it was long gone. ® So I set about collecting a set of manual typewriters from antique and thrift shops. What started as a moderate curiosity quickly became an obsession In a matter of months I went from one typewriter to six.

What is it that makes a typewriter so alluring? Is it the wisceral thwack of the keys? The wobbly charm of the ink-blotted text?

It's all of these things, and the intentionality inherent in the device. They are physically demanding machines, so you must think

about what you want to say or waste precious finger strength. You

can't do anything with a typewriter BUT type, so you can't get distracted by the social medias or IMDB. Type written material stands apart from its digital counterpart because it carries with it a sense of importance., Just imagine the sensatiom and emotion you would have reading a type-written letter versus the same message delivered as an e-mail. All T can say is that I've never been excited to open an electronic message.

Since acquiring my typewritérs, I've worked to establish slow communication with friends and family. I'd rather recieve a letter once every tew months than maintain the illusion of friendship through social media. The problem with social meéia is that it tricks you into thinking you are continuing your relationships with people because you always know what is going on with them. I don't need to talk to so-and-so because I "liked" the post about their new baby... But this is a topic for another day, and one I'll surely revisit many times.

The typewriter is a mechanical wonder that will dlmost certainly never be manufactured ever again. The dwindling number of them left on the planet are all that will ever be. We are fortunate, then, that the things are so resillient. My typewriter collection will likely outlive me, and I hope that they service generations to come. I love to think about the history of these machines. Who owned this before me? Were they also weird story tellers, obsessed with writing fantastical origin stories for tube meats?

A1l I know is that the typewriter deserves a prominent place in my household and lifestyle. It has re-ignited my love ot writing, and given me a delightful method of staying in touch with friends and family. If you have any curiosity about them, head this advice:

get one before they are gone forever.