(aka Bike, est. 2007) Part 2846 by Angharad Copyright© 2015 Angharad
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This is a work of fiction any mention of real people, places or institutions is purely coincidental and does not imply that they are as suggested in the story.
“That’s better.” I said reading the letter that Trish had typed on her computer. “Right you can go and write that on a card—use your fountain pen.”
“Why can’t I just print it off?”
“Because I told you to handwrite it.”
“Why?”
“Why did I tell you?”
“Yes, why did you tell me to go and write it with a pen?”
“Because it becomes more personalised and therefore has more value to the recipient.”
“What you mean if she can’t read it, it becomes more valuable?”
“No. It takes longer to write a letter by hand than it does to type one these days, because you have to take care not to make mistakes.”
“That’s dumb.”
“Is it? There is nothing nicer to receive than a neatly written card or letter especially in this age of texting and twitter or whatever they call it. Your teacher will know it took time to do and appreciate it.”
“But that’s so dumb.”
“It isn’t. People of your age are losing the skill to write, they have electronic gadgets for everything which is fine providing you can function without them. They all have a habit of breaking down when it’s least convenient.”
“Mine don’t.”
“Are you going to disagree with everything I say?”
“No.”
I shook my head.
“What did I do now?” she said loudly.
“What did I say to you?”
“You asked if I’d disagree with what you said.”
“And?”
“I said no I wouldn’t.”
“That might have been implied but you actually said, ‘No’. Thereby disagreeing with me.”
“You’re always doing that to me, trapping me.”
“Now you know how Sister Virginia feels.”
“Grrr,” she said and went off to write her note, grumbling because I told her I wanted to see it before she sealed it. I knew she had some notelets because I got them all some at Christmas.
She may have a bigger IQ than Einstein but I’m more experienced and sneakier at outmanoeuvring people—it’s part of being a woman when dealing with people who are otherwise going to oppose me or could possibly use physical force to win their arguments. It just means thinking sideways and keeping one step ahead. I was also a better chess player than I made out so if made to play, I have an element of surprise to use. Normally I refuse to play, now you can see why.
This might all sound Machiavellian but I have a houseful of young women who I’m here to guide into adulthood, I have to stay one step ahead or they’ll run rings around me. If it happens once, it’ll happen all the time. My role is as the alpha female and I intend on keeping it that way not because of ego but because they need me to be there until they’re independent. Trish might be super bright, a real supernova, but it’s my job to help her control that intelligence and remain human, because our humanity is our greatest possession. It enables us to empathise and to feel compassion. It has negatives like anger, jealousy and greed but in learning to control those negatives we mature as people, as men and women and I hope realise what the good things in life are really about. The best things in life are free but sometimes they need a bit of effort to develop them.
Trish’s effort with her pen was good and I told her so. I also announced that all of them had to practice writing every day, so suggested they should keep a journal. They all grumbled but agreed, so I ordered a box load of diaries and pens online. It might sound a bit double standards, but my own writing is nothing special—just about legible but quite rounded—I was accused of it being girly when I was in school, so I started adding hearts instead of the dot over an i. I got sent to old Murray because of it. He insisted I should write like it all the time so people could see what a deviant I was. Thankfully it died a death, mainly because it took too long to keep up.
The next day after more teaching and cramming my own stuff into a couple of hours I was tired when I arrived at the school to collect my tribe of amazons. Sister Maria nabbed me and we snuck off to her office where like two conspirators she looked outside before quickly closing the door.
“I don’t know what you said to Trish last night but Sister Virginia is delighted with the card she received.”
I shrugged. “I simply told her a few facts of life that she wouldn’t eat again until she wrote a decent card in her own handwriting apologising to her teacher.”
“Wouldn’t eat—come now, I know starving her into submission would never work because you’re too kind a person to do that. So what did you say to her?”
“I explained the difference between knowledge and wisdom, not that I have much of either, but as long as she thinks I’m cleverer than her, she’ll toe the line.”
“Lady Cameron, people don’t get PhDs for being stupid and most professors I know are extremely bright.”
“I’m only an acting professor, remember, not the real thing and every rule have exceptions that prove it.”
“Okay, I accept that you’re the exception—I’d say exceptional in every way. Please don’t deprecate yourself, you’re one of the nicest and cleverest women I know. Thank you for what you did with Trish, we all appreciate it—on the teaching staff, that is.”
“I dread her becoming a teenager.”
“Sadly it’s the pupa before the butterfly emerges, it has to happen.”
“I know, even I, one of the most compliant girls on the planet chose at times to stand up to my father or just be plain awkward.”
“You were also a creditable Lady Macbeth—remember I’ve seen the write up in the Bristol paper. I’m glad to hear you talk about your girlhood—you’re actually owning who you are including your past.”
“Yes, I’m acknowledging it a little more easily. Oh, I’ve told the girls that they will each keep a journal every day to practice their handwriting.”
“What a good idea—some of these girls hardly ever pick up a pen, doing their homework on a computer or iPad thing.”
“I tried to explain to Trish that a handwritten letter is the most effective personal communication there is—for most of us, anyway.” Okay so Sibelius got an orchestra to play for his wife to wish her happy birthday first thing in the morning. I’ll stick to handwritten notes—of the word not treble clef sort.
I found Danielle and she rounded up the rest of the gang and we went home. When we got there I took Trish aside and said that Sister Virginia was pleased with her card.
“Yeah, I know.”
“Who told you?” I asked.
“Sister Maria, she said it was a lovely gift and she was sure it would help in Sister Vagina’s recovery. She also said it was neatly written.”
“How does that make you feel?”
“Okay, I guess—can I go now?”
“Uh yes, of course you can. Looked like I still had some work to do with her—perhaps when she gets to thirteen, I can get Oxford or Cambridge to take her for seven or eight years. Fat chance.”
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Comments
Thank you,Angharad,
Trish will not admit it but she is learning,albeit very slowly.
ALISON
A good day
I hope you will allow Trish to improve. I have a feeling that her problems have a great similarity to Cathy's. She doubts her girlhood that she precipitated.
Portia
I guess we call that a win
even though Trish isn't going to admit it.
ah... the joys of being a parent.
The Lady is always right !
Thank's Ang, Now I must clean the screen. I snorted my coke when I read Sister Virginia's nic-name. Vagina, indeed !
Maybe a little bent over the knee time when this happens again.
Oh, go on, play chess with the kids. You can always make a mistake and lose if you wish.
Cefin
I want
Bikes! They should all go riding, Trish isn't keen but the others are and a regular ride is good for the constitution. In fact they should be riding to school not gumming the roads up with yet another mummymobile. Come on Cathy, get with the times!
Btw, nice chapter Ang
Madeline Anafrid Bell
Acting professors and practicing doctors…
… might be faking it or on work experience but Cathy made a good point today. We think, learn and imprint through all our senses so making Trish write will help her. Next time perhaps she can get Trish to compose and play an accompanying piece of music.
Rhona McCloud
Fountain pens!
Good to see them make an appearance. I still have the one that my mother received as a graduation gift from her father. In fact, I remember using it long ago to write my first TG story.
Thanks Ang for a lovely episode.
The day that fountain pens
The day that fountain pens and actually "stick" pens pretty much went away was a sad day indeed. Around the world, we are seeing several generations who cannot even write cursive, because it is not being taught today.
I fully agree with Cathy, the ART of writing by hand is being rapidly lost and it is indeed sad.
Think about this, because many of our most important legal and political documents are HAND written, we have citizens in many nations who cannot read them because of not learning cursive. That is in my most humble opinion is the true lose we are experiencing from the "dumbing down" of the educations systems in these so-called "modern times".
Sorry - disagree...
I do agree that handwriting can be an art and it has a real impact. Why else do we receive junk mail in fonts that look hand written? BUT - I don't consider it "dumbing down" the population when we use tools to improve our productivity. Hand write vs word processor... is that equal to code in assembly language vs code in python? Sure, I learned assembly language and was pretty proud of the stuff I could do but I can do it SO MUCH FASTER and more accurately in a high level language. Same with woodworking, yes, I can build stuff with hand tools but my table saw, lathe, power sanders and other tools are fantastic time savers, are very accurate and allow me so much more flexibility. Keep art but use tools!
Speed is not everything
Like Cathy says, writing by hand means intent and the effort is what counts. I am sick and tire of speed. And yes I am a programmer too but this has nothing to do with the geek world. This is human speak here and it is about ART not about convenience nor accuracy.
Let's put it another way.
So what would touch you more, somebody who goes to some place, buys a box of cakes and gives it to you or a cake that person takes the time out to do it from scratch and customizes it to precisely how you like it? That is the difference.
And yes by buying somebody else's cake
You are using their machinery, their tools.
I think Cathy was trying to
I think Cathy was trying to make things harder on Trish on purpose but she lost the plot for a bit.
She is turning penmanship into calligraphy, one is a useful skill while the other is a true art form. The way she is forcing Trish to write the letter it's almost like she is making it out to be some grand gesture in calligraphy which it really isn't.
Then again as a lefty with a strong writing disability to the point that anything I write is illegible to anyone who don't know me intimately I might be biased.
I'm told STFU more times in a day than most people get told in a lifetime
I've always believed
a hand written note has special meaning. If I am writing something special for a friend a pen is the way to go.
Fountain Pens
I very rarely use one these days but at one time I used them quite a lot - until I found out that there is a difference between a right hand persons nib and a left hand persons nib (yes seriously) I was in a hurry after a meeting and needed a pen to write a quick note - seeing a friends fountain pen I used it and totally ruined the nib they were left handed oops!
But Trish has learned a lesson but at that age she will not admit it - great work Angharad.
Christina
Sadly, I find hand writing really difficult ...
... since my neck injury makes various limb movements less precise than I'd like - not too bad but not perfect. I know note taking at college probably ruined it originally but there's no way I could handwrite an essay fast enough for an exam now (I could do the maths OK) so it's good job I never will have to again. Do students still write by hand for exams? I can't believe computers with internet access are allowed. In my day even our slide rules were checked to make sure they didn't have useful formulae written on the back and we were supplied with books of standard integrals and log/trig tables.
Cathy (and by extension Angharad) is showing a chilling degree of low cunning in her life that makes me relieved I was never a parent. I'd be incapable of such intelligence driven deviousness; I'm just not clever enough. Kids would run rings round me.
Robi
Humanity.
Bertrand Russel when asked what he used as a moral sign-post in place of religion, gave a brilliant answer.
.'Never forget your humanity.'.
It's my philosophy and it works for me as well.
As to writing with a pen well I have to use a 'ball-point'. I don't do cursive script very well, (Hardly at all in fact.) and I'd break the nib before a single page was complete.
Still lovin it Ang x
Buying more pens..
I wonder if Cathy is just buying a box load of diaries and ballpoint pens,or is she buying a box load of diaries and fountain pens?
Aurora