Keys to the Past

The fading click-clack of typewriters.

- Dr Elsa Lycias Joel

That soothing rhythm of typing from an indispensable machine, invented by one of the most unselfish, kind-hearted geniuses, Christopher Latham Sholes, lent an endearing enchantment to users and non-users alike. This piece of inventive genius that we call the typewriter, was granted a patent on 23 June 1868. Thenceforth, 23 June is celebrated around the world as Typewriter Day.

Those sounds of clacking keys from the black machine are fresh in my head. It woke me up in a rather nice way, far better than the screeching sound of my analog alarm clock that gave me a jerk. Yet, I loved the clock for its ticking noises that put me right to sleep. Everything about this writing machine in my dad's study was good. Awake or half-asleep, my toes, fingers and feet moved in sync with the clickety-clack.