Handwriting's demise

As part of my excessive patrolling of various news outlets throughout the day (do you know just how many hours a day I spend in front of a computer? And how vast the Internet is? I spend too much time trying to keep up with it all, I know I do), I came across a Time article mourning the death of handwriting. Yes, I'm the type of person who clicks on articles with headlines like that, much in the same way that Thomas is drawn to NPR. Anyway, the author laments on the general sloppiness of today's handwriting, especially from the young'ens, but also wonders if it's such a big deal that handwriting is going by the wayside.

I mean, think about all of the ways we communicate now that don't involve touching quill/pen/pencil/amazing 10-color pen I was so excited to use back in the day (please tell me someone else remembers those) to paper. Email, texting, instant messaging, blogging, Twittering, Facebook, MySpace...and even just picking up the phone, for crying out loud. We don't need an eloquently written Declaration of Independence these days, just a 1,743 page budget bill for the great state of Wisconsin that some poor minion had to type out. I can type pretty accurately in the 80 wpm range (I even tested myself to have a semi-accurate statement for you), so why would I want to bother to write something out when I can type it a gazillion times faster (obviously not scientifically accurate, but surely you've come to expect a touch of hyperbole from me)? Handwriting skills come in pretty handy when you're a doctor, but I can think of few other professions where your handwriting actually comes into play. Hey, since doctors seem to do a less than stellar job in the area, perhaps a course or two in the art of script could make its way into the med school curriculum.

It's actually painful for me to write for long periods of time. I have this absurd way of gripping writing utensils - quick, just pick up a pen or a pencil and take a look at your finger placement. You're resting said pen or pencil on the finger you use to flip people off with, right? Well, first of all, don't give anyone the bird - it's not nice. Secondly, take a look at my odd finger placement. I put a death grip on the thing. Essay tests were the bane of my existence. My hand was ridiculously cramped and tense at the end of all of that writing, and I'm afraid I may have developed lasting finger bumps. It's unfortunate that this wasn't corrected early on my childhood. I blame it on public education...but perhaps that discussion is better saved for another time. Actually, I think I had a pretty decent education...uh oh, tangent. I'll wrap up that one right now. Let me just say that it's probably good for the health of my right hand that I can type up, rather than write out, all of the state tax articles I'm composing these days.

I do remember thinking it was a big deal to learn how to write in cursive. And let me tell you, I went all out it with. I wrote with such vivacious loops and squiggles that it was probably impossible to tell the difference between a page of my so-called handwriting and a page with random circles covering it. A tip of my hat to parents, teachers, and friends who managed to decipher the doodles I passed off as handwriting. I've now migrated to writing with mostly printed capital letters and a mix of cursive/print lowercase letters. And those letters change. Sometimes the "f" is cursive and sometimes it's not. It's less loopy and bubbly than it used to be - I'd like to think that's to get it a little more legible and a not a general statement on my demeanor, but I probably am a little more cynical at the age of 27 than when I was learning cursive in third grade.

I think there's something about the handwritten word than the typed or texted or Facebook'd word that carries a stronger message, though -- it also implies a real connection to the recipient. I'd recognize my mom's handwriting anywhere, especially after years of recipe cards, "to" and "from" notations on Christmas gifts, cards for every occasion, and even those grocery lists. It might kill a little of the holiday joy when you pick up Santa's note on Christmas morning and realize that it's in Mom or Dad's handwriting...but at least the note is there. I try to do my part in a small way through the occasional unexpected card or sticky note, and I'm a religious sender of postcards.

You know, in the last week or so I've been the recipient of the following handwritten items, all of which lifted my spirits: postcards from Budapest and Paris, a thank you note for a baby shower gift, and...oh, welll, I suppose that's all. But it is nice to find those thoughtfully written treats among the bills and Crate and Barrel catalogs.