Would You Recognize My Handwriting?

And I can feel it coming in the air tonight, oh Lord
Well, I’ve been waiting for this moment for all my life, oh Lord
I can feel it coming in the air tonight, oh Lord
Well, I’ve been waiting for this moment for all my life, oh Lord, oh Lord
Well, I remember, I remember, don’t worry, how could I ever forget?
It’s the first time, the last time we ever met
But I know the reason why you keep your silence up, no, you don’t fool me
Well, the hurt doesn’t show, but the pain still grows
It’s no stranger to you and me
In The Air Tonight – Phil Collins

I hadn’t planned on starting with a Phil Collins quote or any other quote for that matter. Hadn’t known that I would stumble across it as I put my headphones on just went with it.

Can’t say I was a huge Phil Collins fan but there are a few songs by him that have always meant something to me and this fits mostly because of things it is tied to in memory.

A few days ago I played around with the idea of sending card or letter out and thought about penmanship.

My handwriting hasn’t ever been lauded by others and I wondered if I would need multiple cards or letters because I didn’t want to use Whiteout to blank out mistakes and I don’t have any Erasermate pens.

There was a time when I could write the for ours and fill out any bluebook I wanted to but those days are long gone so I don’t know how quickly hands would tire and if that would aggravate me.

I don’t like being interrupted when I am in the flow and given my current lack of patience decided against it. But it got me thinking about handwritten letters in general.

Would You Recognize My Handwriting?

It got me thinking again about how many people would recognize my handwriting and how the world has changed.

I automatically recognize my parents and siblings handwritten works but I am not sure that my children would recognize mine.

And I wondered how many people in general would recognize mine. I expect some of you might figure it out by the structure and tone of how I write but if you haven’t ever seen the real thing I don’t know if you would be stuck wondering.

If you haven’t seen my signature you’d probably be able to figure out that it is my name but would you know it was produced by me.

There is a reason I use an email address says I am the guy thought I have used others from time to time though I don’t think I have ever used my Hebrew name not that anyone asked.

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I have been curious if changing the method of how I put words upon the page would impact my writing and what sort of influence that would have on sentence and tone.

The few times in recent memory where I considered using a handwritten note or card included some thought the recipient might take what I say more seriously.

I figured they would understand these words fly from the keyboard but my handwritten output doesn’t match the speed I type at. I thought they might appreciate the time invested.

It is also something I brought up during a recent conversation with someone about how to make sure we are being heard.

But again that’s more conceptual than anything else. You can tell people where to visit or send them a letter and there is no guarantee they will do either.

Hell, I texted someone today and told them to read their damn email or expect to find me standing on the desk.

That worked but it is not the preferred method for communication. If people don’t care about what sort of message you might bring it just doesn’t matter.

Damn if that doesn’t sound like echoes from old college courses either.

More Than 300 Views

I posted a video on Facebook that has more than 300 views and a handful of comments thus far. I wasn’t sure I was going to keep it up as long as I have because I thought it had more of an edge to it than it does.

The first iteration definitely had more colorful language and I was far more direct in multiple places. It came after I got fed up by several things and let loose with more than a barbaric yawp.

It came after I politely tore into a few people and considered who else needed to understand that my ire is focused upon them.

There didn’t seem to be any point or upside to let the more venomous side go up. People who don’t care if you are drowning or on fire aren’t impressed with your saying so.

The world will watch you scream and twist in pain for a while before someone will stop to ask if they can give you a lollipop to suck on or perhaps an aspirin.

But I still needed to vent and so I took a second take and posted it. It is not perfect, I didn’t address every point I wanted to make but it took enough of the edge off.

And that was the point, to take the edge off

Has been sort of interesting to see some responses which remind me that all of us hear things differently and our personal experiences impact how we respond to that which we encounter.

Reminded me of when someone told me I owed them answers and an apology and I told them to get used to silence. They said I would be angry if it was done to me and I said they were right, it does make me angry.

Happened more than once and may happen again, but life isn’t fair.

Thank you father for having beaten that part into my head, you were right but I still don’t like it.

If he were here I might handwrite a letter to him so that he could complain about my not having taken the time to make it legible.

Ok, it might be 40 or so years since he said something to me that sounded like that, but some memories stick huh.