Bits are circumspect, at best. They’re alterable. Transient. Intangible. Destructible.
A letter that’s typed is smashed onto paper, one character at a time. The ink left behind by each key is its own tiny little memory, a record of the process as it happened. There is no going back, no forgetting at the command of another key, there is only progress and memory. Holding a typed letter isn’t simply grasping whatever it’s reporting, it’s possessing a record of the act of reporting itself.
Handwriting is for pussies. Anyone can write. Free-form and free-wheeling, instruments in unsteady hands spill ink or smear graphite in jots of uneven loops and crooked lines. The paper bears no scars, simply stains. Stains can be washed or smudged away.
A typewriter is a machine, it requires a connection. An intimacy of operation. Lines and margins and ribbons need require care. I do not know how to love them. So I do not type. Perfection is a minor miracle, or a lot of care.
It’s much easier to tell a lie with a typewriter. The truth of the paper and the ink make it easy to hide lies behind it. Everything digital is already a lie.
You can burn a letter, but it leaves behind ashes.
Bad Valentine is our own special take on the beauty – and awkwardness – of geek love.
Red T-Rex
Monday, February 15, 2010 at 3:06 PMI refute the remark that “Handwriting is for pussies”. The typewriter is an important part of the evolution of writing but like so many tools of mass production it removes any traces of personality or individuality that are conveyed through writing by hand. It turns free flowing (albeit sometimes hard to read) script into a cold, soulless communication of the words themselves (in a much easier to read form of course).
The typewriter and later evolutions of the word processor are of course perfect for business where speed and clear communication of the message are important, however, as this post relates to Valentines Day and geek Love, I feel the author has missed the point of the whole romance side of things as well as some of the subtleties of tech, particularly in handwriting implements such as the fountain pen or more modern technological advanced tools like my Energel Liquid Gel ink pen given to me by a friend who is a salesman of such high tech writing implements. Unfortunately, such impact may be lost on the author until some years have passed and his partner/lover reminisces on days gone by while looking through a box of old letters that are comprised of characters smashed onto paper rather than stylish text flowing from the writers hand conveying additional nuances of his personality.
In fact it was only yesterday I was having a discussion with a good friend of my fathers (in his 70′s) about relationships and technology as my 21yo daughter was having trouble getting over a break up mainly because the guy who was a complete jerk to her continues to send SMS messages saying “What’s up?”, or “What are you doing?”. We compared how things were done through the ages. My wife tells me stories of her grandparents courting in the 1930′s. Being country people, they had to saddle up a horse or hitch it to a cart to go into the local town to meet up. I recall talking to my yet to be wife on our rotary dial, wall mounted phone that was located in the kitchen, often enduring a complete lack of privacy and having to develop a rudimentary code so others wouldn’t know what we were talking about. My children have grown up with first cordless phones and now mobiles, Facebook, and Twitter. Technology changes the way we deal with each other and the “Rules of Engagement” seem to be constantly evolving as well.
The conclusion I have come to is that while technology has made communication far more convenient I think in some cases it has made it less effective. In days gone by, you would have to take the time to collect your thoughts before putting pen to paper or at least have several drafts. Newer technology allows you to send a thought the instant it forms in your head without any filtering or massaging and once it is out there you can’t get it back. It allows you to end a relationship without having to face the other person (a boon to all the cowards out there who aren’t present when a heart breaks). It provides a variety of ways to embarrass yourselves after drinking too much and new means to get caught-out by your boss. Technology has allowed us to be busier and more connected than ever before but also enables those connections to be more superficial than ever before. How many real “friends” do you have on Facebook?. The strongest connections will always remain in “meatspace” but when separated by great distances, I have to admit, tech sure comes to the rescue.
Does this mean that the days of the love letter are long gone! Certainly not, although I admit they are becoming increasing rare. But if you want to mark a mark with that special someone for Valentines Day then I recommend going low-tech, I strongly suggest picking up a pen and telling them how you feel longhand and then take it to the nearest post box and send it off the old fashioned way (even if they only live a block away). It will leave a lasting impression and may even one day be found by your children or grand-children as they rummage through old things and it will let them know what kind of person you really are or were. I seriously doubt any emails or SMS messages will survive the ages as well as a handwritten letter.