While browsing in an antique shop, I came across a silver typewriter ball used on IBM Selectric typewriter. Back in the 1970s, they became the industry standard, thanks to that revolutionary font ball. They also came up with a great carriage return that stayed inside the typewriter body instead of a typist having to reach up and push a lever to make the roller go back to the left-side margin.
I was taught how to use a Selectric by our company’s head secretary, Betty. She showed me how to change out the “golfball,” and I still remember the thrill I felt when I first typed a memo on the company’s first tan Selectric.
In addition to that nifty type ball, the Selectric had a self-correcting ribbon. If I missed a mistake, Betty made me lightly dab Liquid Paper on the error, blow on the paper until that spot dried and then type over the mistake. She’d always check to make sure I hadn’t globbed on the Liquid Paper so the mistake was almost invisible.
The Selectric was overshadowed when I was asked to be one of the guinea pigs on a new word processing machine made by a rival company.
I didn’t know what a word processor was, but when a huge, sleek machine was wheeled into my office a few weeks later, I was thrilled.
The biggest difference was a screen that showed me what I’d typed and how the page would look before I’d print it out. The words and characters were recorded onto magnetic cassette tapes, much like a VHS tape for movies. Mistakes could be easily corrected in the machine’s memory before printing out a pristine copy.
No more hard returns at the end of the line, a skill Betty refused to learn, and no more Liquid Paper. I remember that smug feeling of thinking I was so smart at the age of 19 because I wasn’t afraid of trying new machines.
Technology Moves Fast
But technology moves fast. Pretty soon every secretary had a word processor, and those segued into primitive computers.
Of course these machines took up the entire desk, required floppy 5-inch discs and expensive printing ribbons, but they totally revolutionized how we carried out our business.
When they were rolling in modern personal computers, I was a full-time mom, so I watched the confetti-throwing technology parade march right past me.
When I did go back to the work force, everything had changed. I was in the newspaper business, and beige Macintosh computers were the “in” item to have.
It took a while to get used to the Mac language, but the logical and straight-forward operating system won me over. Finding I could highlight an entire paragraph with three clicks of something called a mouse, underline and bold words and sentences with clicks and drags was absolutely amazing.
Today, I marvel at my nieces and nephews who can hook their parents’ television to the Internet through an iPad. Even my 5-year-old granddaughter knows how to find songs and games on my cell phone.
While watching my 2-year-old grandson play a pre-school game on the iPad, I thought about Betty. I wondered what she’d think of the technological wonderland we live in today.
She’d probably smile, say the bells and whistles were fine and then ask me to type a decent memo. She’d check my spacing, spelling and grammar. And, last but not least, she’d make me demonstrate my skill with Liquid Paper.
I’d like to see a 19-year-old beat me at that.
This column was originally published in The Fort Bend Herald.