Handwriting

Do you remember your grades in elementary school? The only two I can seem to remember are the worst two.

In first grade, I got a "U" (unsatisfactory, like an "F") in music. Why? Well, our old-lady teacher made us stand in a circle, boy-girl-boy-girl, and skip in a circle to some fruity old-fashioned music. I wasn't real big on holding hands with girls in first grade, so while skipping I gave the girl in front of me a good soccer kick in the posterior. That earned me a trip to the principal's office, a good spanking at home, and a U for the class that quarter.

The other bad grade I remember in elementary school was a "C" in handwriting. Try as I might, in third grade I just could not get my pencil to make letters that looked like the ones on that chart above the chalkboard. My cursive back then was kind of ugly, and it never got a whole lot better.

Well, thirty some years later, I have decided I'd like to improve my penmanship. Practically speaking, this makes absolutely no sense. After all, in our modern computer age, the skill of writing by hand has paled in comparison to the skill of typing on a keyboard. Penmanship was a valued skill in our grandparents' day, but no more.

Maybe its the "art" phase I'm gonig through. Maybe its a throwback to my calligraphy skills I tried to learn as a kid. Maybe its somehow related to my fondness for fountain pens. I don't know what it is, but I'm inspired.

Here's the story of my handwriting:

And now...

And there you have it. I'll keep you posted on my progress. Hopefully soon my writing will look like this or even this!