Years ago it was not foreseen
that I would use the symbolic
term “pen and ink” instead of
“computer” to describe the
form of my writing nowadays.
Call me old fashion or romantic
that way. I’d rather be associated
with those writers of old who sat
in a dimly lighted room at night
pounding their typewriter keys,
or under a tree in the summer
breeze scribbling their thoughts
longhand into a notebook.
Computers seem too high-tech
and uncreatively easy when it
comes to writing prose and poetry.
Shakespeare may have felt the
same had he given up his quill
and ink well for a felt-tip or
ballpoint pen.
Now, I appreciate aspects of
modern technology today, but
there is something nostalgically
missing as the old man reads the
sports page of a newspaper at the
kitchen table over morning coffee.
Or seeing a young woman lying
prone on a mattress while diligently
journaling longhand entrees into
her diary.
There’s something grossly impersonal
about nearly everyone in society today
pressing the keys of their smartphone
or vocally conversing with the Alexa
A-I which leaves me frostbite cold.
There is something lost in the immediacy
of light-speed convenience. Something
is impersonal and unfeeling about virtual
reality. But that’s just old fashion me
who grew up to be 75-years tradition-
ally.
Don’t get me wrong, I’m not totally
against technology. But respectfully
and with a measure of orthodoxy,
could you please put your smart
phone down and see eye-to-eye
when speaking with me?
-30-
Chris Hanch 9-29-2022
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