Cursive

Beautiful Posse !  Recently I was beset with tech drama.  Tech DEMONS fried my hard drive and a whole buncho other drama happened and I … I just couldn’t, y’know?  Luckily my workload was… nonexistent so I had time to get it all sorted and get it down to my beloved (and VERY patient) Geek Squad dynamo, Justin.  And Floyd Bless that kid… his patience and skill and patience ( I really hate dealing with tech but recognize that it’s here to stay, blahblah… unless the grid goes down – at which point I/we’ll have WAY more tiresome and terrifying things to deal with)… he started untangling the foolishness that inept Musette created… but a lot of time spent and he had to keep my phone while he untangled it.  and (gasp!)  he had to keep me!  I’d left my irl book in the car and I had to sit there while he worked so I could answer questions, etc…  zzzzzzzz

Then I remembered that I needed to write today’s post!  So I asked him for a piece of paper and a pen… and I wrote the post.. in cursive!  That post will go up anon – this post is about the Experience!  I still write out grocery lists or quick notes, etc, but it’s been forever since I wrote the equivalent of a paper in longhand.  Like 40 years forever.  It was an intriguing experience.  I sat there in the relative quiet and forced myself to slow my breathing and allow my mind to focus on what I was writing (I’m a QWERTY typist so I can zip through a sentence pretty quickly).  I really enjoyed the ‘different’ focus – when I’m writing I’m going much more slowly than if I’m typing .   And I love getting written communication ( thank you, Lady P, for your lovely postcards!)

When I first started painting in earnest I was fortunate to connect with the painter R.B. Kitaj.  He would send missives via postcard and each one was cause for much celebration (including shrieking and jumping around).  I often would slide and postcard, unread, into my pocket to await a time when I could pour myself a cup of tea (or a cocktail) and savor the moment when I could really immerse myself in what he had to say.  He and David Hockney were very good friends and both were hard of hearing.  At one point Kitaj said that Hockney suggested they communicate via fax (then a very new technology).  Kitaj’s reply “I would rather re-install gaslight” .  Kitaj took his cursive seriously!

My first DH courted me, both before and during our marriage, with beautifully written notes and cards – and even during our separation we would leave little letters and notes to each other (alas, it wasn’t enough to keep us married, though the letters have kept us bound to each other for 30 years!)  I can’t remember ever feeling that way upon receiving a text!

What is it about a handwritten note?  And TO BE FAIR… it doesn’t have to be actual handwriting.  Several of my friends have challenging handwriting, so they type out the letter … so … maybe it’s just getting something ‘written’ in the mail?  Dunno.  But it never fails to charm and delight me!  A VGF (Very Good Friend, don’tchaknow) gave me a fountain pen… boy howdy!  I absolutely LOVE writing little notes with that thing.  And I set the stage for it, with a cup of tea and some quiet music on, desk cleaned… maybe it’s because it feels like an event, to write something, rather than dashing off a text?  What are your thoughts on it?  Am I having a Get Off My Lawn! moment?  I promise I’m not going to use a quill and ink (mebbe…) but it really is a delight to stop (sometimes) and just… write.

… though I am happy to have my new laptop and keyboard connected.  Not exactly sure how I would’ve managed, longterm, without it!