(You) write it down!

Pens. One of my most favorite gifts I've received is an Acme pen from my brother for my college graduation. He actually gave me a catalog and let me choose the one I wanted. It was a hard decision. I am a slightly indecisive person as it is, and making the decision on a writing tool that has been designed by professional artists was a task for me! The range of styles, themes and designs is extraordinary. The quality of the pens is exquisite. After perusing the catalog, and then studying the catalog, and then reading about the designers, I chose the pen "Colori" by Marcel Wanders. He has his own studio in Amsterdam and does work for many big name clients including British Airways, Droog Design, Flos, Habitat, Mandarina Duck, Rosenthal, Swatch and Virgin Atlantic Airways. I was impressed with his design, and the bright colors are, for lack of a better word, "artsy". And I love it!

Writing. It is expression, craft and design coming through in words. It's not just communication, but it is art. It's creativity in words- many, few, concise, verboise, repetitive, broken, made-up, foreign, linked, or jumbled. This is why I love words. And yes, I LOVE words. Words come from people. People are unique and convey themselves through their language. Language is more than just verbal or written words, but it is also in the tone, inflection, or gestures. Ahh...but I like the words on paper, specifically the ones by hand.

So this is where pen meets paper. Handwriting is fascinating to me. It seems to be linked to personality. Have you ever found a note and tried to figure out who wrote it based on the handwriting? Or maybe you've tried to read someone's handwriting that was really messy? Were they in a hurry when they wrote it or do they actually have sloppy penmanship? And how were they taught to write? Did some people have better elementary teachers who wrote on the board neater than others? One of my favorite things to learn in elementary school (besides art class) was cursive. I was so anxious to learn all the letters in cursive. I remember being jealous that my teacher could read and write in cursive! I thought it was exciting when I learned the captial and lowercase cursive letters. My dad would encourage me to keep up my cursive writing all the way through high school. Some teachers didn't care if we wrote in cursive or print; they just wanted it to be legible. Cursive penmanship is faster and easier when you are writing a lot. It is easier to take notes or write a letter in cursive because you don't have to pick up your pen as much and you can continue your thoughts with more fluidity.

Signature. A person's signed name has always been important in contracts, bills, certificates, letters and other documents. It is an official and undisputed way of authorizing a document. It is an personal yet professional way of stating, "This is me and I agree!" Nobody really teaches a signature. I would say it is kind of a scrawl that you develop as you discover how you like to see your name written. Sure, you may practice and perfect it so that it does not actually look like just a scrawl, but ultimately it's your mark. It becomes recognizable and memorable.

When President Obama signed the recent health care bill (H.R. 3590 Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act) into law this week, he used 22 pens. That's 22 different pens to write his name. So he wrote ten letters: B-a-r-a-k O-b-a-m-a. Can you imagine trying to write a signature with that many pens? He couldn't even use one pen per letter, but he had to make parts of letters for each pen. (He practiced.) This has been a tradition for presidents since Franklin Roosevelt. They give the pens to people who have worked on the bill being signed into law. A couple of the pens are also placed in the archives. So I wonder...do they leave the ink in the pens to be preserved? If so, why? I do not see the significance in that if it will not be used again. I say keep the same pen and use it over and over again for each bill signed into law. Wouldn't that be more historical? How cool would it be if he signed with the same pen Franklin Roosevelt used to sign bills in 1930s-40s? There's my vote. Hmmm...if they ever come up on eBay, let me know.

I can think faster with a keyboard under my fingers. I can think more freely with a pencil in my hand. I work more creatively with a marker in my hand. But, I believe I can compose much better with an ink pen between my fingers. There is something about the permanence of a pen. It's the smooth roller ball on paper encouraging me to "be brilliant!" I can choose a simple Paper mate for speed over accuracy or I can summon a Uni-ball for precision and quality. I do realize it is a little contradicting to promote handwriting through an online blog, but that is the way the world likes to communicate these days. Although chances are that if you are reading this online, you have, at one point, received a handwritten note from me. At least I hope so, as that is my favorite way to communicate. Enjoy words, and if you're bored, write me some!