As a writer I've always been fascinated with the actual art of writing. I love calligraphy, old typewriters, anything and everything to do with the world of writing. At Scarborough Fair, I got to opportunity to buy a beloved quill pen. It has a pretty tan feather and a typical quill end, made out of metal. At the fair I couldn't afford the elaborate base which holds the ink so I waited, assuring myself I would find an equally nice container elsewhere. After waiting months and months, I found a small ink jar, in blue glass, for the perfect price at Farmers and Fleas. It was $1 and holds ink nicely.
Finally, I was set. I had no disillusions about my writing looking like Zaphino font or calligraphy but I thought, really how hard can it be to write a letter with my quill. As I sat down at my desk, I realized a) I had no stationery (who uses stationery anymore?) and b) I had no ink. After locating a simple piece of white computer paper I settled down to the task of locating ink. A co-worker simply got a pen, cut the tube in the middle and let the ink drip into my bottle. ( I should mention this process took about an hour.) I was set.
Setting out to write, I was giddy with anticipation. My quill was finally going to be used. Even my quill tattoo on my shoulder seem to be excited (wait, no that was a shoulder twitch.) So I dip and begin to write. Get a letter written. Faintly. Dip again, go back over the letter. Dip again, write another letter. At this point, it may be Christmas before I get the salutation written. I dip again and proceed to attempt to write. Finally, having enough, I grab my ball point pen and finish what I was writing.
No wonder quills went out of style with the dinosaurs. It would take me a year to write a column for the newspaper. I did eventually figure out that one must have a large quantity of ink (not just one simple stem from a pen) to make it work. Also, computer paper isn't the best thing ... the metal tears it. Maybe I'll get some real ink and try it again.
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