Pluggers by Rick McKee for February 24, 2023

Typewriter? What’s a typewriter? {wink, wink}

If you still use an Underwood manual typewriter, then you probably have a date with an Undertaker soon!

A slightly younger plugger might still have an old IBM Selectric—-great in their day. Even younger pluggers might have a Brother Word Processor.

Or a slide rule

Does that mean Tom Hanks is a plugger?

I actually learned as a little kid how to type on a manual typewriter with no letters shown on the keyboard! That was one tough third grade teacher. Several years later, I distinctly recall one day leaving her typing class and going back to my main elementary school classroom. All the kids and the teacher were silently listening to the radio. The date was November 22, 1963.

He types with his bear hands.

Ribbons are getting harder and harder to find.

You’re a plugger if you still use WordStar.

More and more you’re a Plugger if you were taught and still write strictly Palmer Method Cursive. “Pencils Up!”

Have typewriter but not in use …

Olympia – still works, still used and still looks good.

Brother Where Art Thou.

Mine is a portable manual Royal given to me by my folks on my 13th birthday. Best present ever!

I got rid of my Smith-Corona manual years a go when I couldn’t get a new ribbon for it. Now all my typing is done on my computer; spelling correction is my friend – except when the word is a homonym.

Owning the typewriter is not the hard part it’s finding replacement ribbons.

If I even had a manual typewriter, I wouldn’t use it. I kept getting my fingers caught between the keys. Practiced later on a Selectric at work [it was much easier]. Now I have a keyboard with a overused backspace. Still can’t type accurately, but luckily I can spell, so catch most of my mistakes before sending it off/posting it.

High school, early 60’s. Girls were required to take 1 year of home economics and 1 semester of typing. We couldn’t take Ag or drafting. The typing class had 25 manual typewriters and one electric. For the second half of the semester, the keys were covered. You had to be able to type 60 words a minute with 3 or fewer mistakes before you could use the electric. I never succeeded because I tended to correct the mistakes in the transcript as I went — which were counted as mistakes. I was glad when the semester was over because I was dreaming in type — conversations and scenes were being spelled out as if I was typing them.

Years later, one of my tasks was to document the ongoing discussions and decisions on a multi-year, international project. [Luckily I had a laptop, not a typewriter, and could type around 150 words a minute.] It was necessary to capture the discussions as close to verbatim as possible because different representatives attended different meetings and often the written documentation was needed to show what had been said, who said it, what decisions were made and why.

One set of meetings took place in Germany and my lap top wasn’t able to make the trip. “No problem” our host said. “We will have one for you to use.” What I didn’t realize is that it would have a German keyboard which had additional letters and some letters and characters in different locations (e.g., the Y and Z were reversed and many of the punctuation keys were actually German letters). The first day, I took 193 pages of notes and then I had to figure out how to get the spelling into English for the next day. I ended up substituting 99 all typed Z’s, and 22 for all typed X’s. Then X for all 99’s and Z for all 22’s. I corrected punctuation as I proofread. Luckily, the meeting lasted only 2 1/2 more days.

I own and use carbon paper.

I don’t believe it.

I miss my old Underwood – I learned to type on it. I also miss my old IBM Selectric.

I have a Smith Corona Skywriter manual typewriter.

You are a plugger if you have spare ribbons in the desk drawer.

I have a vintage 1950 Royal, myself, but I prefer paper and a fountain pen.

are all pluggers retired because let me tell you i use a Mistel BAROCCO split keyboard im not sure i could do my job with a type writer haha

The Underwood is probably collectable

I gave my Smith Corona to my luddite granddaughter. She uses it for school everyday.

All work and no play……….. That’s what Jack was typing over and over again in the Overlook Hotel.

I saved my college Smith Corona for my grandkids to play with.

Typewriters are making a come back. As many of the old tech.

the good old days (???) when I was the “auto” in auto-correct.

i learned to type on a manual typewriter, which is one more reason why i appreciate my computer…

Manual typewriters may become valuable and in high demand when we start having power outages from all the EVs charging.

I used to have an Underwood, used it at work! Had one at home too.

I still have my electric typewriter. People look at me in shock when they ask, “Was this done on a typewriter?”

I have my old manual portable typewriter – still has a dent in the case on top where I fell down the stairs and my knee landed on it when I first got it. We also have husband’s electric portable.

However, my typing, despite taking a class in typing at school the summer after 6th grade, is still horrendous and only acceptable when I type on a computer and can keep correcting my errors – plus typewriters don’t have sepll correct. Yes, until my 6th grade teacher gave me extra help in spelling, that was how I spelled “spell” – even on the heading on the spelling test! Since she helped me I may not always know how to spell a word, but generally – even without spell check – see that it is spelled incorrectly.