Sylvanus Now Contest: Pen and Ink

Here is Carla's submission for the contest. Carla is a member of my writers' group and I'm delighted to have met her.

_____________________

Pen and Ink
by
Carla Taylor

Pen Whew! I just licked the envelope to seal my congratulatory note to friends who recently became grandparents. My right hand is cramped and sore…it hasn’t held a pen much in the past weeks, months, can it be years? My handwriting looked more like scrawl than the lovely swirls we practiced back in grade school…in the 1950’s. Do they still do that? Anyway, my friends-who-hate-email will soon have a heartfelt hand-scribbled message in their lovely brass mailbox that hangs next to their front door…much prettier than the Inbox to which most daily mail is sent these days, mine included.

I jumped on the email train as soon as my kids set up the computer, turned it on, and clicked on Outlook Express for me. Eventually, I learned to do all that myself. And then I emailed everyone I knew…actually badgered friends to get email addresses. Over time, I realized that I was no longer writing full sentences or trying to keep thoughts together in paragraphs. I could pass on information or set up a lunch date in quick phrases…efficient, time-saving, and convenient.

When, however, it comes time to ‘snail mail’ a proper Thank You note, or add a personal thought to a birthday card...my Mother drilled these niceties into me as I grew up way back in the mid twentieth century…both my composition skills and the execution of words by hand onto paper are a daunting challenge.

I started my fiction writing years ago with a lovely Shaeffer cartridge pen and nice clean thick lined pads of paper. Sometimes now when I reread some of those pages, I sigh at the neatly scribed words (even the cross-outs are legible!) flowing down those pages. I’m not sure why I’ve kept them for they are definitely not literary masterpieces. Perhaps they’re just gentle reminders of the beginnings of my journey to author a book worthy of sharing. Now I have several partially-finished works stored in My Documents where I keep them as I’m creating them on my computer. I still have writing pads and lots of pens. Maybe for their aura and good vibes? I think, though, that my pride and joy…that finally finished manuscript…will roll neatly out of my three-in-one printer. I really hope that it’s soon.