By Their Pens Ye Shall Know Them
Marisa writes frankly about her recovery from a crippling addiction to pens. Don’t get me started.
Oops, too late.
I am not worthy to discuss this subject; my addiction isn’t epic. I must admit, however, that when I was young and most people my age were hanging out at the mall, I was hanging out in stationery stores, my nose pressed against the glass, leering at the Watermans. “Hey, kid! Either buy something or get out of here. Yer smudgin’ the glass.” As I scuttled away, I noted that my nose prints weren’t the first on the showcase glass.
I never fulfilled those early dreams of owning a fine fountain pen, although in a moment of weakness I ordered an inexpensive one from Levenger. (By the way, I always felt that Steve Leveen founded Levenger to finance his pen addiction.) One of my favorite pens was a Rapidograph, a technical-drawing pen that drew extremely fine lines. It was a lot of fun to use. Most of the time, however, I have used plain old ballpoints. My favorite over many, many years is the classic Parker Jotter. It fits my hand better than any other pen; not too big, not too small. I use one every day. I wonder what that pen says about my personality? Hmm. I was afraid of that.
I think the reason I never became a serious pen collector is because my handwriting is so ugly, and getting uglier all the time as I write less and less. The Palmer method never stuck with me. For some pens that might inspire you to practice your handwriting, check out some of Kyle Cassidy’s gorgeous instruments here and here. That’s some hot, hot pen pr0n action.
Comments
I suggest you post a photo of your beloved Parker Jotter so that everyone can draw their own conclusions about your particular pen preference. I remember how upset you were the time you left one in your pocket and it got washed. You disassembled the leaking pen and used Q-tips and rubbing alcohol to clean the gooey ink blobs from all of its interior and exterior surfaces. All for the love of a five-dollar pen.
Posted by Mrs. Mere Cat on February 12, 2006 at 10:56 PM
pens! i love writing with my parker fountain pen. wonderfully balanced. i sign things at work all day and it makes me feel like a big important person as i uncap my fountain pen and sign away.
but for everyday stuff, i love my pigma micron pens. i think i have a .25 and a .35 in black.
Posted by albert on February 13, 2006 at 10:43 PM
My dad is a Rapidograph devotee, and I spent some time with one during college. It's a good pen. I have a Waterman fountain pen somewhere out there, it was my very first "grown up" fountain pen and I still love it!
Posted by Marisa on February 14, 2006 at 9:44 AM
Okay, I am weirded out. I was here yesterday and saw the changes and also noticed that I could comment. I didn't comment because I needed to digest that you changed your site. Pitiful OCD lady, I know.
I love reading [your site], and I love your talk on lobster rolls. That's how I found you in the first place, don't you know. I was planning a vacation to Maine to visit Red's and was Googling information when I came upon your site. I read your review and decided that Red's was not for me after all. I'd been looking at Hancock's for the longest, and immediately after I read that you'd ordered from them and like it so much, I placed my own order and liked it so much myself. I was actually pretty bummed when you didn't write about lobster rolls on your last trip. What gives?
Oh, and I love, love, LOVE the pics of your cats in your header. Sometimes, I'll refresh a few times simply to scroll through.
I'm glad to be able to finally tell you how much I like your site! Thanks!
Posted by Kathryn on February 14, 2006 at 10:01 AM