Technological Crutches That I Love

I was flying from Chicago to Phoenix last week and, tired of the newspaper I was reading, grabbed the SkyMall catalog from the seat pocket.

On page 35, there was an ad for a replica of an old fashioned manual typewriter being sold by Hammacher Schlemmer.The copy extolled the virtues of the typewriter: "The slow, steady click clacking cadence that encourages the patient, considered sentiment of a wordsmith who thinks before writing."

Now aside from mystics who engage in "automatic writing," I thought everyone thought before writing. Perhaps monkeys attempting to recreate the Bible don't, but I think the rest of us do.

In any case, those words are not what really gave me pause. What truly amazed me was the copy writer's statement that the typewriter is "devoid of technological crutches such as spell check and deletion."

I don't know about you, but I love those "technological crutches." In this brief communication, I can't tell you how many times I've been grateful for the ability to delete and for the little squiggly line that appears under a word I've misspelled.

While I'm not in love with every technological advance, I must say that the "technological crutches" of spell check and deletion are ones that I'm loathe to abandon.

But kudos for a great try by a very imaginative copy writer. Check out page 35 of the catalog next time you fly. That typewriter sure looks nice.