Pens, paper and other smells are disappearing

Published 4:53 am Wednesday, January 28, 2009

By Staff
It is such a different world now, just as it was for my father's generation.
I got excited the other day when I saw a brand new stack of legal pads, still wrapped in plastic.
Those clean lined yellow sheets remind me of stories yet to be written.
Everyone by now knows to guard any pen they feel is valuable, because it just might accidentally find its way into my purse. I love new pens, but am constantly losing them, or draining all the ink.
Many thanks to the nurses at the Borgess Lee clinic in Cassopolis, as they usually supply me with lots of pens and Post-It-Notes.
I never did like to write with pencils, as did a former publisher whose writing I had to try and decipher each week when I typed in his column.
He used those legal pads.
Now I use thinner reporter notebooks.
I can't remember the last time I used an actual eraser – instead of just a delete button. I kind of miss the smell.
Unlike other editors, I never use a recorder. It would seem like I was attending the meeting or doing the interview all over.
Instead, I take notes which help me recall the important things which were said.
I remember my father, who also was a reporter and editor, pounding on his old typewriter.
I wonder what he would think of computers, which do the spell checking instead of us going to the dictionary? He would never tell me how to spell a word and instead sent me to the big heavy book.
Now we can look up the spelling of a town or work using our computers and going to the Internet.
The other day when our email and Internet went down, my reporter just picked up her cell phone and found what she needed.
I am sure my dad never dreamed that one day we could be contacted wherever we were – including in the bathroom.
It would have made life much easier though, instead of finding a pay phone and calling in back to the news desk.
Should something happen now, a reporter can be found by cell and sent to a more important accident, instead of waiting for them to come back to the office..
Our sports editor can take his laptop to some sporting events and have the first story typed in during the lag time between games.
Advances continue to be made and life becomes easier – except when equipment breaks down.
Last week our email server went down a few times and later on our fax machine quit.
Unfortunately when these labor saving devices don't work, we don't know what we missed. Items could have been sent, but never received.
Still, I like being able to copy an email notice to put in the paper instead of completely retyping a fax. It is a time saver.
Unfortunately not all businesses have the same level of equipment and sometimes we can't open documents produced on different computers using various software programs.
Some schools are giving their students computers. High schools and colleges are even allowing their use for taking tests.
I wonder if the next generation will ever get the same thrill I got with a new pad of paper or pen? I doubt it.
Instead they are texting wizards, quicker than a flash.
The first time I tried to send a text I kept hitting the wrong buttons and letters, not knowing which key did what.
My daughter actually called me and asked me what I was doing as she was receiving these messages which didn't make any sense.
I finally got the hang of it, but I am certainly quite a bit slower than a five-year-old.
Hmm, maybe I wonder if my granddaughter has a cell phone?