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| PHOTO PROMPT © Jeff Arnold |
NO MODERN TECHNOLOGY NEEDED
Rebecca flexed her fingers. Who knew that skills she had learned
nearly fifty years ago would be useful in 2025?
She remembered bashing out: 'the quick brown fox jumps over the lazy
dog' until she could do it error free.
She left college with Pitman's shorthand and could accurately
touch-type at fifty words a minute.
When electric typewriters became the norm, she was gleeful.
Imagine her pleasure when word processing arrived?
Now life had turned a full circle.
The old typewriter had pride of place. Sourcing ribbons and carbon
paper proved challenging, but here she was.
No modern technology needed.
No modern technology needed.
Hope you enjoyed this story and I look forward to your comments.
If you wish to read more Friday Fictioneers stories, you can find them listed HERE
If you'd like to join in the challenge, you'll find all the information posted by Rochelle Wisoff-Fields
- her blog is listed on 'My Blog List' on the right hand side of this page.
On a final note - I always attempt to visit the blogs of everyone who comments on mine. If I haven't commented on yours it's either because I haven't been redirected to your blog when I've clicked on your name or because you have a wordpress account that requires me to sign into wordpress first.
Please check and amend your settings. Thanks.
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Let's hope we don't have to go back to clay tablets
ReplyDeleteGoodness, now that would be a step too far. :)
DeleteYou can still get the ribbons, and there are even repair shops around if you look. It definitely fosters a different process.
ReplyDeleteI don't doubt it. My strongest memory of manual typewriters at school was my inability to depress the keys properly with my little fingers. In my first job I had an electric typewriter and it felt magical. :)
DeleteI think I'd just use a pencil, Susan!
ReplyDeleteWhat and miss the heady feeling of managing to type a whole page without errors?
DeleteDear Susan,
ReplyDeleteMy mom insisted I learn to type. I'm glad she did. Your story is an evocative reminder. Note..My husband still refers to our printer cartridges as ribbons. Good one.
Shalom,
Rochelle
I learned when I was still at school and although it was years before I did any real secretarial work, the ability to type has always been useful.
DeleteYou never know if technology ceases and we need to go back to, circa, 1910. Wow, you had an ordeal getting back and you came from Spain that is getting smacked now so I say a little prayer that you are aok and am glad you are in isolation. I trust you have someone who can bring you groceries and meds if needed.
ReplyDeleteThanks, Birgit. Yes it was very stressful when we were first refused passage by the ferry company. So far the self-isolating hasn't been a chore. There is plenty to keep us occupied and I've started planting up my veggie beds. Neighbour did some shopping for us and I've been able to place an on-line order with the local supermarket (although it will be interesting to see what we actually receive!).
DeleteSo far the power is staying on at least, even as everything else seems to be falling apart! Hope you stay healthy and enjoy the quiet isolation!
ReplyDeleteThanks, Iain. Yes, we're okay at the moment. We have a well for our water supply and there is diesel in our oil tanks should we need it. My husband said he'd like to get his hands on a generator, just in case!
DeleteAh, those were the days. Glad you made it home.
ReplyDeleteMemories, memories, eh Anthony?
DeleteI miss the sound of typewriters, that wonderful click-clacking! Nice one Susan.
ReplyDeleteIt was all so different, wasn't it!
DeleteI'm not sure how I would fair in that world. I only briefly used an electric typewriter. "Mom, we need a computer."
ReplyDeleteYour CV story is way better than mine. As stressful as it was, you made it home safely and have a story. I stayed home... as usual, and rationed toilet tissue.
I don't know about it being better. The high stress situation was horrible. Maybe I'll get a story out of it in the future. :)
DeleteFeels appropriate, this, doesn't it? This returning to basics, having to leave the modern world behind a little. A sweet and apt story, Susan. I'm so glad you made it home okay. Stay well and safe
ReplyDeleteThanks, Lynn. I didn't intend to, but couldn't help writing something with an oblique reference to these strange times we find ourselves in.
DeleteI LOVE this story! I can see a day when we will all wonder how to get along without electronics. Well done :)
ReplyDeleteAh, thanks for the enthusiastic comment, Linda! :)
DeleteSo many things do come full-circle. No telling what the future will bring.
ReplyDeletePut it this way, Jade - I'm jolly glad I had cookery lessons when I was a schoolgirl!
DeleteThey really are hard to use, aren't they? I imagine our strength would increase as we practiced... But, I am no rush to return to those days, to tell the truth.
ReplyDeleteI remember struggling to hit the keys evenly, Dale. No, I wouldn't like to return to manual typewriters!
DeleteYour story struck a chord with me. Whilst I hated typing lessons at the Manchester College of Commerce, I never regretted the skill I emerged with, probably the most useful one I ever acquired. Sorry for your trauma last week, I too felt the anguish of trying to get home in these difficult times.
ReplyDeleteYes, learning how to touch type was useful when I worked in offices and now it's invaluable to me as a writer. Good to be home, eh?
DeleteWe need a non-power solution. I worry about a long term black out. My handwriting is not an option.
ReplyDeleteGlad she sourced ribbon.
I'm hopeless at writing by hand for any length of time - my hand cramps up!
DeleteThat was my thought too - where would one buy the ribbons?
ReplyDeleteApparently it is still possible, although thankfully I haven't had to try. :)
DeleteThe idea that mechanical typing would be a useful post-apocalyptic skill had never occurred to me before. What an ingenious idea!
ReplyDeleteI think the idea stemmed from the fact that I'm now taking skills like growing food and cooking from scratch more seriously!
Deletetypewriters had their days. who knows, maybe they'll come back. :)
ReplyDeleteEek! Let's hope not though. :)
DeleteFunny how we love what we know, like playing vinyl records when it's easier to tell Alexa to do it. Nice take on the prompt.
ReplyDeleteIs it a comfort thing? Like eating food we remember from childhood, or slipping into an old comfy sweater?
DeleteI wonder if this is her choice or if something awful has happened in the world...
ReplyDeleteMy interpretation is that world technologies have been lost.
DeleteIt's funny sort of, because when I was a teenager Computer classes were called Typing class. How technology has advanced. I wonder what happened to my old typewriter.
ReplyDeleteThat's interesting, Susan. I suppose all computer work involved typing in one form or another.
DeleteI still can't type without looking at the keyboard after all these years of working in technology :-(
ReplyDeleteMaybe I shouldn't have skipped those typing classes my parents paid money for me to join.
I didn't finish my typing course at school, but I knew the theory. When I started using the 'skill' at work I remember having to force myself to practise touch-typing until it became second nature. It was well worth it!
DeleteVery glad you were able to get back home to Ireland safely.
ReplyDeleteI left high school with Gregg shorthand and the ability to type. Today, I’m thankful for both! I love the way your story comes full circle. Nice one!
Thanks, Brenda glad you like the story. Yes, I'm glad I learned to type. I did learn Pitman shorthand too but never used it. :)
DeleteI never learned to type like that, but I did have a mechanical typewriter, and remember the trouble of correcting errors... I prefer the technology today.
ReplyDeleteOh gosh yes! Correcting errors was such a pain, wasn't it? And don't get me started on having to use carbon paper in order to have a copy to keep. :)
Delete