Finding The Right Priorities In The Money Wars

Michael and Conrad

Michael Swickard - Consider the manual typewriter. This fine technology did not need electricity to function and was “portable.” Newsrooms were full of the clatter of the typewriters when I was just starting in the news business. Some newspaper workers talked about getting to work on the “clackers” because of the sound that surrounded them. These seemingly old men all smoked, cursed, had a bottle of stimulant they consulted regularly in their desk drawer, and were at times cranky while pounding out stories on deadline. When I broke into newspapers (while still in high school) I started as a photographer and back-up typesetter on an old hot-type system. I think I could still set type, even though the last time I did Lyndon Johnson was president. I was thinking of this technology in the midst of the current budget debates in Santa Fe about what is needed and what is merely wanted. I suspect in the coming weeks the debate will be about how much money, at a minimum, it takes to run the state of New Mexico. When I talk about the “old days” with manual typewriters there may be a temptation to ask, why did we replace the manual typewriter? Simply, it was nothing compared to a computer. On a manual typewriter you had to listen for a bell to know when to hit the return and type on the next line. Typewriters were slow but very dependable. You rolled the paper into it, sometimes putting two pieces of paper with a carbon layer. No, the carbon used did not cause global warming then or now. Mistakes were quite a problem so the advice was not to make typing mistakes. Yeah, sure.

Compared to the computers I use today to research and type my column, my old typewriter is ever so very primitive. My mother bought this old Underwood Typewriter I have in 1940 and it still works today, but I find myself only mildly amused looking at it. At one time I could not do without it, but now it is more a decoration than anything else. Read rest of column here:

Finding The Right Priorities In The Money Wars