I learned to type during high school in the 1980s. Our instructor, Mr. Chickering, told us we had better learn because most of us would need to use computers in our daily work someday. He was right.
At about the same time, I broke a finger during a wrestling match, making typing a challenge. Mr. Chickering, who also coached basketball, was not interested in excuses. He told me I would figure it out. He was right again.
In 1986, I took an old manual typewriter with me to college. My supplies included typing paper, correction film and a few bottles of Liquid Paper. I typed my own papers and made a little extra money typing papers for other students. It was a pretty good side hustle for a college kid trying to keep gas in his car. I am fairly certain I was the only guy on my dorm floor with a typewriter.
During my sophomore year, I upgraded to a used electric typewriter. It was one of those blue IBM models that seemed about the size of my first car. It sounded like it, too. I don’t remember whether my electric model had any fancy features. I just remember that it was a dream compared to my manual typewriter.
Of course, technology was not finished with me. By my junior year in college, computers and word-processing software were becoming readily available. Suddenly, those two typewriters were obsolete. I have no idea what happened to them. Mom probably sold them at a garage sale, which was fine with me. I was ready to move on.
Within months, my carefully saved typing paper probably found a new purpose, the Liquid Paper dried up, and the correction film became another forgotten relic. Somewhere, I imagine, Mr. Chickering was smiling and saying, “I told you so.”
Looking back now, I realize he was teaching us more than typing. He was preparing us for a world that would change dramatically, even if none of us could have imagined just how much.
Today, we carry computers in our pockets that can do more than I could have dreamed while pounding away on that blue IBM. But I still remember Mr. Chickering’s lesson: Learn the skills you will need, don’t make excuses, and figure it out.
And, yes, he was right one more time.
Have a terriffic Tuesday and thanks for reading.
Shane Goodman
Editor and Publisher
Times Vedette digital newsletter
shane@gctimesnews.com
641-332-2707