curs(ed)ive

How often do you actually write with a pen on paper anymore?
When is the last time you wrote in cursive?

Recently, I was writing a greeting card (I'm talking about an actual physical card that you send in the mail with a stamp...the fact that I have to explain this supports the theme of this post) with my usual writing by printing method. I remarked to my wife that my printing looks fairly neat but somewhat child-like. After assessing the card, she remarks that my printing is small and uneven. She suggests cursive for more sophistication and quickly adds, "Do you even remember how to write in cursive?" I'm fully aware that technology has transformed some skills from fundamental into forgotten, but still I laughed her off, "How can anyone forget how to write in cursive?"

Perturbed by my incredulous response, she asked me to prove it. As she began dictating sentences, something funny happened: I couldn't do it perfectly! I mean, I could write in cursive but it wasn't a smooth process. I would have failed 2nd grade handwriting with this sample. I had to pause and think about how to write certain uppercase letters because my first impulse was to render it in print method. I paused in the middle of words to think about how to render certain letters. Some of my letters like "r" and "s" ended up being printed and it all became a bastardized mashup or cursive and printing.

Of course after more practice, it began to come back to me and I completed perfect sentences...but that first brain-dead attempt was shocking. I guess it shouldn't come as a suprise since I spend most of my waking hours on the computer. Yup, I'm either typing, mousing or holding a remote. I gotta log off now!