Return of the Typewriter

This past Sunday, on CBS Sunday Morning, they had a piece which caught my attention.  The piece was investigating a surge of young people who are becoming enamored with … (are you ready for this?)….typewriters!  Yes…the tap-tap-tap, ding, crrrraank  has spawned a renewed appreciation for the simplicity of words appearing instantly on paper.  In turn, typewriters which had been tossed
into dumps, closets and attics are finding their way to nearly extinct typewriter
repair shops …held in the curious, loving arms of those looking to experience
words-on-a-page. 

What’s going on?  These young folks are finding that, when they use a typewriter, they find themselves thinking about their words BEFORE they press the keys…Committing to their spelling, context and phrasing without the digital forgiveness, or thoughtlessness, of their PC-phone-keypad.  In short, they are actively participating in what they produce…choosing to create concise, personal,  sentences where hundreds of mindless  “tweets”, “texts” and “posts” once stood.

In human terms, after 60 or 70 years, like any dump, closet or attic…our brain can become overflowing with forgotten information, habits, memories, smells, abilities and feelings.  One of the abilities that older people “forget” is balance.  When we become fearful of falling, or have suffered a fall…the natural tendency is to retreat from doing things that might create a situation for falls. After all…you can’t fall if you’re not standing!  The result is that we stop using our balance…and
we tuck it away.

Like the new generation’s fascination with old school utility, our neglected or forgotten balance function is often a just waiting to be “rediscovered”;  And, as modern medicine shows us, people who are well into their 70’s, 80’s or 90’s can become reacquainted with their senses of balance with a simple assessment of their balance skills, and some practice, even when other health problems exist. 

Like the act of typing on an “old-fashioned” typewriter, older people who once enjoyed activities of daily living with good balance can once again commit to life and the “old fashioned” joys that come with participation.

Stay active,

Mike  mab@fallpreventionclinics.com