Tuesday, March 1, 2022

Losing Skills


Happy March 1st! I remember an old adage for March: "In like a lion and out like a lamb." 

With the arrival of March, I have been retired for two months and I have to admit that it seems longer with everything happening around the world. 

My handwriting has never been good. In fact, years ago I gave up writing cursive and turned to block printing. Yesterday, I actually needed to write some information down on paper and it became an interesting event. 

First, my pen would not write. I have used a fountain pen for many years because I like the density of the ink on the paper and because I believe they are more ecologically sound than throw-away pens. Apparently the ink dried in the nib, due to lack of use, and I had to clean everything out to get the pen functioning. This likely happened because I have not written anything in almost two months. 

Next, my hand did not seem to be able to write the letters and numbers smoothly and easily. Have I lost the skill of writing? Most likely yes. I could read what I wrote but it seemed like a chore rather than something that I used to enjoy doing. I guess I have been writing too much on my laptop and not enough on paper. 

I do not think that I will often exercise my writing skills, or lack thereof, in the near future, but I need to take better care of my writing instrument so that it is prepared for infrequent use. I have placed my pen in a container with the nib up so that the ink drains out rather than drying and gumming it up. Time will tell if this is a good solution.

And that is how the first day of the third month of both the year and my retirement begins.


-- Bob Doan, Tequesta, FL

 

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