The Lost Art of Hand Writing

For a couple of years now I have used a computer for everything from writing articles, to communicate, to playing games and to printing addresses onto envelopes. My laptop is never far away, it is usually by my side or on my knees, and the furthest it ever gets from my side is when I am on the toilet or in the swimming pool. Recently though I had to write a personal letter to my mother, just to say hello sort of thing and I thought that a printed letter would not be quite the right thing for the occasion.
Upon making the decision to write I assumed that it would be a relatively simple task to accomplish but all was not as easy as I first thought! Finding paper and pen proved quite a hurdle to climb over. The only paper I could find in the house was reams of unlined printer paper and some flowery toilet paper, my once-trusted and old fountain pen had more ink on the outside than in and the pen with a naked lady body just seemed so wrong to use!

I toddled off to the stationary shop to get the necessary and two hours later I repaired to the task in hand. I had my pens, I had my paper and I had a lovely cup of hot coffee to sip whilst jotting down my thoughts and life for my mother to read in due course!
Five minutes later I gave up! My hand was sore; it ached all the way up to the elbow and felt like I had just started to use it after six weeks in a cast!
My five-minute foray into using a pen gave to me a lot to think about, apart from a sore hand that is. I used to jot down notes about interesting things happening on my journeys; I used to let my thoughts wander whilst in motion and to later use these inane thought to make an article.
I remembered how I used to be a very relaxed person! I recalled how I used to turn my thoughts slowly and artfully into a product that I was happy with. My hobby turned, with a simple purchase of a laptop computer, into an automatic rush to develop and to produce without proper regard or actual knowledge that the finished product made any sense what-so-ever.
For many the simple ability to correct mistakes, to alter and to expand documents with ease, the fact that most written notes have to be entered into a machine anyway and the fact that it is fashionable puts handwriting into the annals of history without second thought or hindrance! Computers are machines that are so useful yet have taken the fun out of writing in one fell swoop.
I still put out the same number of articles, essays, pieces, etc. as I did before. Nobody has suggested since my laptop initiation that the quality of my works have diminished and certainly I now spend more time on other tasks or chores than I did pre-laptop times, but the pleasure has been removed.
I am now pondering a return to happier times. To write more by hand so that I may re-experience the leisure that was so much part of it all. First I must strengthen up my right hand as five minutes is just not long enough!

For a couple of years now I have used a computer for everything from writing articles, to communicate, to playing games and to printing addresses onto envelopes. The only paper I could find in the house was reams of unlined printer paper and some flowery toilet paper, my once-trusted and old fountain pen had more ink on the outside than in and the pen with a naked lady body just seemed so wrong to use!
My five-minute foray into using a pen gave to me a lot to think about, apart from a sore hand that is. I used to jot down notes about interesting things happening on my journeys; I used to let my thoughts wander whilst in motion and to later use these inane thought to make an article. I remembered how I used to build up ideas for future essays or articles by spending hours dawdling and scribbling, pondering and playing till hours, nay days later a finished product would surface out of the mess.