The Fountain Pen

The following is a work of fiction. Any resemblance to anyone living or not, is unintentional. 

There’s something special about the feel of a nice fountain pen; it makes you pay more attention to your penmanship. Penmanship – ha! People don’t even care about that anymore. These days all that matters is quick and easy. Cheap ballpoint pens and lined paper from the school supply store.

When I was a young girl, I learned to write with a nib pen and a blotter. We learned to write with style, nice and straight (although I do remember putting lined paper under my stationery to help me write straight, but eventually writing straight became a habit). Not that any of that matter anymore. When was the last time I received a handwritten letter or note from anyone? I can’t even remember. Everybody wants to communicate by email these days. It’s just not the same. With handwriting, you can get a true sense of the person who’s writing, in the slant of their letters, or how they cross their tees. What are you going to do – bundle up your love emails to read through when you get old? No, it’s just not the same.

I’ve seen so many changes in my life, and some are absolutely amazing! Automatic washing machines and dishwashers – well, I won’t complain about those. I even like my computer; I love having all that information available in seconds. No, my regret is that with all these modern conveniences, we’re losing some of our social graces. Social graces such as a handwritten note to a hostess, delivered the day after a dinner party. I can see it now in my mind, a linen note card, tastefully embossed, with graceful strokes of a fountain pen. You know that somebody took a few minutes out of their busy schedule to pen a note of appreciation.

It isn’t that people don’t have time anymore; it’s that they don’t take the time. If they’re appreciative, you may find out in a quick email sent from their smart phone on the way home. “thx aunt em for a lovely dinner :)”

People don’t appreciate time the way they used to. They think time is infinite – well, maybe it is when you’re in your twenties, but let me tell you, when you get older you realize that time is finite and it goes by much faster.

That’s one of the reasons I appreciate a finely crafted letter or note. It’s also why I still use a fountain pen. I still take the time to create a beautiful letter, with good penmanship. It’s almost an art form; something beautifully written in these days of quick emails and text messages. It gives importance to what I am writing, made obvious because I took the time.

To Whom It May Concern,
I, Emily Stanford, being of sound body and mind, declare this to be my final testament …