The Case of the Blue Light Special Electric Typewriter that was the Key to My Career
And I’ve Been Typing Ever Since
When I graduated from high school, I attended a community college. While there I majored in office-related subjects and business courses. One of the required courses was Typing 101.
At that time the classrooms were filled with electric typewriters, which was a far cry from the manual ones that I was somewhat familiar with. Often I would stay late working in the student typing lab trying desperately to get my pitiful typing speed up. At that time I'm certain I wasn't typing 30 wpm.
I can still hear the instructor saying, "a,s,d,f, j,k.l;. Were those considered the home keys? I had the hardest time placing my hands properly over the keys. It was just horrific.
After the first semester I was devastated when I received an "F" grade. But my father came to the rescue. K-Mart was one of his favorite places to shop. So we got in the car and it just happened that K-Mart was having a blue light special on electric typewriters. It was cobalt blue in color with a black plastic carrying case. After thoroughly looking it over we decided this would work for me.
While I continued to be a regular attendee in the typing lab, I was also feverishly practicing on my own at home. Progress was being made. When the next grading period came around I received a more acceptable "C". By the end of the year I made a "B".
Years later the technology world was revived with the introduction of personal and desktop computers for consumer use. I didn't get one until 25 years ago.
My father and I still laugh at that K-Mart blue light special electric typewriter. It has only been within the last 7 years or so that I have gotten rid of it. Learning to type has opened up new opportunities for career growth and even to being a contributor here at Yahoo.
Isn't it interesting how things turn out for the best after all? Maybe that "F" was a blessing in disguise.
SOURCE:
Personal experience
Published by Lee Hansen
I am a woman who enjoys the simple things in life. My parents raised 10 children. I have an Associate Degree in Medical Office Assisting as well as a Bachelor's Degree in Biblical Education. View profile
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3 Comments
Post a CommentElectric typewriters were a godsend after the manual ones!
Oh, I remember those days in my high school typing class! Knowing how to type was a big help when I later attended college and had to type those papers:-)
At the High School I attended all students were required to take typing. If you already knew how to type you could attempt to test out of the class.