August 26, 1964
Jocie Brooke here reporting from Hollyhill, Kentucky. Do you see what's in the picture? A typewriter! My very own typewriter. Mr. Atkinson, the lawyer in the office across the street from us, bought his secretary a new typewriter and let me buy her old one for twenty dollars.
I had to break my piggy bank, but who needs all those nickels and pennies anyway. That change along with the dollars I had stuffed down in my sock drawer for a rainy day or more importantly, a typewriter to fall down out of heaven, were just enough. Mr. Atkinson laughed when I spilled out five dollars in pennies, nickels and dimes on his desk, but he said money was money as he raked it off his desk into a box. He even gave me a couple of never used typewriter ribbons and let his secretary show me how to put them on. She barely got any black on her hands from the ribbon, but when I tried it, my fingers found plenty of ink. But I'm used to that. I get ink on me all the time helping Dad and Wes print and fold the newspapers for delivery. I can never keep from touching my face. The blacker my hands, the more my nose itches. Wes is always telling me I look like a spotted dog.
I don't care about a little ink on my nose. The good thing is that now I can be a "real" writer and type up my stories instead of just scribbling in a notebook. Dad says writers write all different ways, but famous writers have typewriters. Dad says Ernie Pyle always had a typewriter with him when he was reporting from the war. He found this picture in an old newspaper to show me. 
Other writers too. Book writers. They have to have typewriters. Maybe I'll write a book someday. Maybe a mystery like Agatha Christie. Or those Hardy Boy books. Maybe something mysterious will happen here in Hollyhill. I guess it doesn't have to actually happen if I'm writing fiction. Say a stranger comes to town and he's up to no good. A smart and very cute newspaper reporter starts digging into why the man's here and saves the day.
Well, I haven't figured all the plot points out. You can't write a book in a day. But you can get started - when you have a typewriter. I'll go to sleep smiling tonight!
Did you ever have a typewriter and dream of writing a book?
I
oh, yes, Josie, I always wanted to write a fiction, but I am afraid I let time get away from me. Now that I am 71 years old, I figure it is too late. But, what about Gramma Moses! Didn't she start painting at 79? Maybe I should rethink this.
ReplyDeleteJocie here - Never too old to do what you want. Sometimes being older gives you freedom to try something different. Like Aunt Love wearing a red hat to church. I never thought I'd see Aunt Love with a red hat on. Never ever! But I did.
DeleteJocie, I never had a typewriter until way up in my 40s. I didn't get to type in school either. We couldn't type until eleventh grade. Well, I married when I was barely 16 (not a good idea). Well, I had asthma so bad I had to move away from where mother lived to see if I would be better. Well, before time to start school again, I was having a baby and not enough money to hire a babysitter, so couldn't go to school anymore. (not good).
ReplyDeleteWell, now they learn to type on computers in Kindergarten. WOW!! By the way, if you hadn't saved all of those pennies, nickels, and dimes you would not have had the twenty dollars you needed for that wonderful typewriter. Right? So, keep saving. I am happy for you and hope you write some great stories. God bless you, Maxie
Jocie here. Good heavens, Maxie. I can't even imagine getting married. Most of the boys I know are icky! But my sister had a baby. She wasn't as young as you, but still pretty young. She tells me it's better not to be in such a hurry even though she loves her little boy a lot. We all do!
DeleteSo sorry you didn't get to finish school, but you know reading and learning never has to stop. At least that's what my dad says. And Wes. He says he learns new stuff all the time from the books he reads. Of course those books are all science fiction so who knows if it's anything that will ever actually happen. Like kindergarten kids typing. That sounds just too weird!
Hi, Jocie!
ReplyDeleteCan't say I ever wanted to be a writer, not enough patience & imagination - I don't guess - but I sure love to read other people's books, does that count? And I have used plenty of typewriters in my time.
Is that your friend Ann in the picture reading the book (?) - such a pretty little girl!
Jocie here. My friend, Ann, likes to stay in the background and let me do the talking here. But she did let me borrow that photo. I've been thinking about finding a new one. What do you think would look good? A photo of the courthouse? Or Main Street? If I only had thought to take a picture of Wes and me, that would be something. But he says Jupiterians don't like to take their pictures. He's afraid the purple spots might show up. You know, sort of like people are always saying ghosts show up in photos. Thanks for coming over to read my news reports!
DeleteI love Jocie and her stories.
ReplyDeleteJocie here. Glad you like my stories, Sharma. You have such a pretty name. Sharma. Maybe I'll write a story someday about a girl named Sharma.
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