Well something old has come back around and reared its shiny new head. You see I have always had this habit of trying to find the perfect pen, part of it is work where I have to sign things in black ink... why black beats the hell out of me that is out of my pay grade... anyway you know how it is when you borrow a pen and it writes ohh so well. You look at is try to remember the brand, the type, the point size, what color ink, the heft of it, how it fits your hand.. well you get the idea. There are a thousand different things that make up a good pen all of them completely subjective. Now I had a very good pen, one that wrote like a champ, the heft was ideal it was a nice pen given to my by Big Lou back when I was working on my masters. I remember it clearly, it was a blue enameled Waterford. That is the pen that I judge all others against. It has been gone now many a year lost during my moves between masters, doctorate attempt, teaching, and various other careers I have collected and undoubtedly it did not write as well as I remember and I think the barrel might have been to thick actually, but lets not cloud feelings with judgement people I am flighty and far to easily destracted to be bothered my reality. So back to the topic, the reason this has come up is, well .. this blog attempt that I am doing. You see I am having a hard time conceptualizing what to write about so I thought, well lets go old school and write out what I want to say in a journal. Ohhhh a journal.. yeah new hobby .. then I could blog from it in some sort of orginization and conscious fluidity. So I spent several days researching journals, yeah I know its basically a not book but come on have you ever actually looked at the options out there. I mean DAMN, there are a lot of varieties and styles and well its something new that I never looked into .. ohh its soo exciting. Yes I do need to get out more but well this is me. So along with the journal research logic dictates that if you are going to write you need a write utensil to go along with that fancy notebook. So here we are back at an old collection that is rearing back up into prominence. Also spurred on by a recent trip to Mall of America, the worlds largest mall.. ohh boy.. I hate crowds.. hate them with a passion.. I become He Who Walks With Fists, a name given to my by my friends after observing me in an airport, in a crowd and well that includes Malls, airports, sidewalks, bars, clubs, well anywhere thats crowded. .. wow .. off topic .. concentrate ohh master of the flighty thought patterns.. anyway at giant edifice of consumerism there is a store that deals with pens. Paradise Pens, I had to walk around it twice, its not very big but wow what a selection of incredibly expensive pens, I mean a MontBlanc for a grand.. are you kidding me 1000 dollars for a freaking pen, people are crazy. Of course while we where at the mall I did try on a Tag watch.. it was really cool .. but not $3500 cool.. people are crazy. .. shakes the head... topic damn you..
So this pen store rekindled some of my desire for a good pen. Now lets define a good pen. It must feel good in the hand, it must write at my angle of attack, it has to have the right heft and well yeah its gotta look good, not necessarily classy even though that would be nice but it has to stand out. For example, one of the pens I was looking at is made my ACME.. Yes, the wile coyote company. I find this pen to be rather cool, the calligraphy series taken straight from ACME's webpage. It just appeals to me, I like it. BUT I have never lifted it or felt it to see how it would fit and write. So its a pipe dream, but I still look and check out what is out there.. the chase ... soo many cool things so little band width. So we see a pen we like. Something about it has set it apart from the 50 gazillion different pens out there, so what version to you pick. Do you want the gel ink roller ball, the ball point, the original roller ball, or do you dare to go old school and select the classic fountain pen. Well, I have owned two fountain pens, both back in the late 80's early 90's and I used them alot and liked them alot, but I learned that you never let a high schooler try to write with your fountain pen. They bend the hell out of the nib and well there goes that pen. They were not expensive fountain pens, steel tipped and serviceable. I have no idea on the nib size, or style but they are a thing from the past. A classic.
Think on this, we are a nation of caffeine addiction, coffee shops are everywhere. People go there to drink coffee, surf the net, conduct business, hang out with friends, study and people watch. Now close your eyes and picture the coffee shop the last time you were there. Was there someone on a laptop? Used to be if you were on a laptop in a store you were strange. Now they are everywhere.. hell I am writing this on my netbook the ultimate in laptop portability. I have even been that guy on the computer in the coffee shop, BUT I can not recall seeing anyone writing with a fountain pen at a coffee shop since my days in grad school. Its a throw back, its like seeing a classic old car or motorcycle. You take note and enjoy seeing the past come by again as a classic. It puts a smile on your face, not sure why but it does to me at least. Can you see where this is headed. I want a classic, a throw back pen. I want a fountain pen and everything that goes with it. The sound, yes you know that sound the scratch of a fountain pen that is lost with the roller ball or the ball point. I want the not so efficient but infinitely cooler pen, perhaps a older used pen that has its own history. I probably won't be able to write worth a damn with one but hey reality does not dare to intrude upon my collections and desires. A classic pen to go along with a classic heavy papered journal, well probably a sketch book since conformist lines are well .. for conformist. Ha take that you lemmings.
Oh now for the benefit, at least to people like me, of a fountain pen.. wait for it...... wait ...... the ink. Do you have any idea how many types of inks there are for a fountain pen? Google it.. I double dog dare ya. Oh more chase. Hell days have gone into the chase, reading, learning, evaluating what pen addicts say in reviews, reading blogs about pens and inks, and paper. Its all new and shiny or classic and shiny.. or .. well its a sparkly damn it its all sparkly.. and it is good it entertains. It has potential, and as a side benefit it will help my penmanship which needs help. All the benefits a mind needs to continue to grow and learn and ohhh sparkly.
