What a journey. I love the way you’ve woven your story together through your lifelong relationship to those 44 keys. I’m envious of your typing skills, and I constantly wish I’d paid more attention in typing class. ( I almost flunked). A really great essay !
A little outside my generation I know, but I also wanted to marry Robert Redford! Have you SEEN Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid?! (Loved this essay, Catherine.)
Great essay! I felt being right there, in your typing class, and at every next typing station of your life, typing along with you, writing my future steps, climbing the ladder to heights I didn't see possible... Writing is a gift, typing too. Yet, there's a time to move on and enjoy the sunshine, the view of mountains and sea, and live.
I love your story- the detailed way your typing operates as the scaffolding to tell your life story. My story was different. My mother taught me to touch type when I was 13 and then told me never to admit to anyone that I knew how. This meant I was able to type my high school papers but when job interviewers asked if I typed I said no. No one ever tried to hire me as a secretary even though I had a teaching degree and then a law degree, unlike what happened to Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O'Connor when she graduated from law school and could only get a job as a legal secretary while her classmate, Chief Justice William Rehnquist, got hired as a law associate right away. At 75, I still remember my mother's black Underwood typewriter and my first one, a grey portable Smith Corona in its own case. My touch typing skills, kept secret for so long, still come in handy. I take online poetry classes and, while others hand write their compositions in response to a prompt and then when it is time to read have trouble reading their handwriting, I type my responses and easily read when it is my turn. My typing speed means I can write more in the time given as well.
I LOVE this story!! What a wise woman, your mother, and YOU! It's so true, and thank you for the Sandra Day O'Connor anecdote. I might just use that somewhere.
My life coach told me once that I already knew my path, I only hadn't seen it yet. She was right. One thing leads to another and another.... Thank you for reading.
I'm so very glad this post landed in my inbox! Also 62, my path was not dissimilar to yours. My typing led me to a career in technical writing (a loathsome, but lucrative career). But, it also lead me to freelance journalism (loved it until the hedge funds decimated the newspaper industry) and ultimately, novel writing. So glad you followed your mother's advice, Catherine! I look forward to your next post with great eagerness.
I’m a little older than you (70) but I too sat through typing class (and shorthand too!) despite dreaming and even striving for a different path. It was encouraged as a good thing to “fall back on” in case college, or a future assumed marriage, didn’t follow through on promises. It’s a skill that has evolved over my lifetime and still serves me well, as it has you as you write these wonderful substack posts. Thank you for sharing your expressive gift. Yes, I was right back there with you!
I never took shorthand. Now that is an art! And yes, I think that is what my mom meant. Get a skill so that you do not have to depend on anyone else. It served me well too!
I’m a little older than you (70) but I too sat through typing class (and shorthand too!) despite dreaming and even striving for a different path. It was encouraged as a good thing to “fall back on” in case college, or my future marriage, didn’t follow through on promises. It’s a skill that has evolved over my lifetime and still serves me well, as it has you as you write these wonderful substack posts. Thank you for sharing your expressive gift. Yes, I was right back there with you!
Oh my I love this and know every key by heart. 65 words a minute. Beautifully and creatively expressed, you kept me well engaged. I am eager to hear more about your next chapter. Thank you.
I, too, received luggage as a high school graduation gift.
My typing classes began as a sophomore in high school. I also took typing in summer school along with driver’s ed. Oh those old manuals and then the dreamy electric typewriters. Little did I know the ease of computers fifty years later.
I remember when, at my first job in 1983, they brought in Tandy TRS80 computers from Radio Shack! I said I wanted nothing to do with them. Hahaaa...as I thimb-type this response on my phone. Thank you for reading!
This is so lovely, Catherine. I also learned to type in 1978. :)
Thank you for the comment!
What a journey. I love the way you’ve woven your story together through your lifelong relationship to those 44 keys. I’m envious of your typing skills, and I constantly wish I’d paid more attention in typing class. ( I almost flunked). A really great essay !
Thank you so much Karen!
Love how you distilled all the stories down to 44 keys. Thanks for sharing.
Thank you for reading!
A little outside my generation I know, but I also wanted to marry Robert Redford! Have you SEEN Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid?! (Loved this essay, Catherine.)
Have I SEEN it? 😍
Great essay! I felt being right there, in your typing class, and at every next typing station of your life, typing along with you, writing my future steps, climbing the ladder to heights I didn't see possible... Writing is a gift, typing too. Yet, there's a time to move on and enjoy the sunshine, the view of mountains and sea, and live.
I’m close to spending more time in the sunshine, enjoying the view, than I do typing. That’s always the goal. Thanks for reading and your comment!
I love your story- the detailed way your typing operates as the scaffolding to tell your life story. My story was different. My mother taught me to touch type when I was 13 and then told me never to admit to anyone that I knew how. This meant I was able to type my high school papers but when job interviewers asked if I typed I said no. No one ever tried to hire me as a secretary even though I had a teaching degree and then a law degree, unlike what happened to Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O'Connor when she graduated from law school and could only get a job as a legal secretary while her classmate, Chief Justice William Rehnquist, got hired as a law associate right away. At 75, I still remember my mother's black Underwood typewriter and my first one, a grey portable Smith Corona in its own case. My touch typing skills, kept secret for so long, still come in handy. I take online poetry classes and, while others hand write their compositions in response to a prompt and then when it is time to read have trouble reading their handwriting, I type my responses and easily read when it is my turn. My typing speed means I can write more in the time given as well.
I LOVE this story!! What a wise woman, your mother, and YOU! It's so true, and thank you for the Sandra Day O'Connor anecdote. I might just use that somewhere.
This is wonderful, Catherine. I love how you use the reality and the metaphor of typing to frame this mini-memoir.
My life coach told me once that I already knew my path, I only hadn't seen it yet. She was right. One thing leads to another and another.... Thank you for reading.
I'm so very glad this post landed in my inbox! Also 62, my path was not dissimilar to yours. My typing led me to a career in technical writing (a loathsome, but lucrative career). But, it also lead me to freelance journalism (loved it until the hedge funds decimated the newspaper industry) and ultimately, novel writing. So glad you followed your mother's advice, Catherine! I look forward to your next post with great eagerness.
Thank you for reading! Here's to following our paths.
Incredibly beautiful post! Truly touching and inspiring! Thank you for sharing :)
Awww. Thank you for the sweet worda.
67 here. I remember those typing classes. Thank you for this. Beautifully written and I can't wait to read that memoir. :)
Thank you so much. I can't qait to FINISH that memoir! 😜
Another poignant recollection that invokes thought and memories.
😘
I’m a little older than you (70) but I too sat through typing class (and shorthand too!) despite dreaming and even striving for a different path. It was encouraged as a good thing to “fall back on” in case college, or a future assumed marriage, didn’t follow through on promises. It’s a skill that has evolved over my lifetime and still serves me well, as it has you as you write these wonderful substack posts. Thank you for sharing your expressive gift. Yes, I was right back there with you!
I never took shorthand. Now that is an art! And yes, I think that is what my mom meant. Get a skill so that you do not have to depend on anyone else. It served me well too!
I’m a little older than you (70) but I too sat through typing class (and shorthand too!) despite dreaming and even striving for a different path. It was encouraged as a good thing to “fall back on” in case college, or my future marriage, didn’t follow through on promises. It’s a skill that has evolved over my lifetime and still serves me well, as it has you as you write these wonderful substack posts. Thank you for sharing your expressive gift. Yes, I was right back there with you!
Oh my I love this and know every key by heart. 65 words a minute. Beautifully and creatively expressed, you kept me well engaged. I am eager to hear more about your next chapter. Thank you.
Thank you for reading Prajna!
I, too, received luggage as a high school graduation gift.
My typing classes began as a sophomore in high school. I also took typing in summer school along with driver’s ed. Oh those old manuals and then the dreamy electric typewriters. Little did I know the ease of computers fifty years later.
Your story really took me back!
I remember when, at my first job in 1983, they brought in Tandy TRS80 computers from Radio Shack! I said I wanted nothing to do with them. Hahaaa...as I thimb-type this response on my phone. Thank you for reading!