Pen or Pencil?? Which is write (right) for you???

I was sitting at my desk today writing with one of my favorite writing instruments ... a 9 mm mechanical pencil. Someone came by and said "Wow, do you really use a pencil?" Well, I do. Not all the time, mind you. I am somewhat of a pen/pencil freak and have about a million pens, pencils, markers, etc. at my disposal. But this incident made me reflect.

Back when I was learning to write, we used thick pencils. You had to turn a wheel on the pencil sharpner to fit your big pencil in, after the teacher used it to sharpen her "adult" pencil. They were messy and you got "lead" all over your finger tips. Of course, penmanship class held a real thrill because you got to use a pen ... not a ball-point but a real live honest-to-God pen, dipped in the ink well. You made ovals to practice and you had to "dip" many times.

The desk itself was something else. It had a hinged top and inside you were supposed to keep your books, papers and supplies. You only got one tablet per six-week marking period and one thick pencil, so you made them last. They were treasures. Of course, you could keep other treasures in your desk also, if you teacher didn't catch you. Above the hinge on the top was a small round hold that held the ink bottle. Of course, teacher didn't keep the bottles there all the time. They were placed and displaced for writing class. Otherwise, the old inkwell trick would come true and Susie's braids would get dipped.

Through most of my school years, I wrote with a pencil. It was required. If you were lucky enough to own a ball-point pen, you kept it to yourself. Pencils were made for erasing and if you made a mistake, a pen would never do. Besides, back in those days your supplies were given to you by the school district. I think my parents got a lot more "bang for their buck" in those days. Now you have to buy everything yourself, and still pay higher than "H" school taxes.

In today's world, a ballpoint pen is like a rubberband. You can find hundreds of them in any given office. It is a very viable means of advertising and the drug companies have handed them out by the millions. Wouldn't that have been a treat for us elementary kiddos in the 50's.

Well, like the title to my Blog, I am sixty (almost 62) so these memories are old, but fond. If you are younger than me, I am really sorry you missed the old ink wells. Those were the days!!!!