Yesterday and Today

Back in the mid-'50s, I fell in love with a gold Sheaffer Touchdown Snorkel pen and pencil set that my grandfather owned. The pencil used ultra fine lead and the pen sported an extra fine accountant's nib. I drooled over that set and finally talked him out of them when I was in high school. I've kept them all these years.

A few years ago, I sent the pen out to be restored, but I'm almost afraid to use it. The set never leaves the house, so I can't lose them. In fact, they sit in a lined wooden box next to the TV in my office. 

Recently, I spotted a gold Sheaffer Sagaris on Facebook that is a near replica of the old Sheaffer Touchdown. Yep. Had to buy it. Fortunately, it didn't cost an arm and a leg. The only problem? I could only find it with a medium nib. For once, I really wanted a fine nib. What can I say, I'm a sucker for memories of my grandfather. 

The solution? I found one in black and chrome with gold trim. It was easy to swap the nib sections. Now, every time I pick up that gold Sagaris, I think of my grandfather. Salut', Don Cicino. I miss you.

Off the top of my head

I'm amazed at the gullibility of people today. It seems like too many take negative things at face value and never stop to question the source or probability of the truth of it. When I was in school, I was fortunate enough to have a few teachers who would force us to think. Does it sound logical?  Think about it. Newspaper editors never ran hot topic stories without having the facts backed up by 3 independent sources. 

In our current "instant access" internet days, the race seems to be who can get a story out first, facts be damned. It's on the internet, so there must be some truth to it. And anyone with enough cash can start their own web news site, biased though it may be. It's either extreme right or extreme left. I sometimes wonder if there are any old time news reporters left. 

And then, there are the news spoof sites. How many of their spoofed stories are quoted on platforms like Facebook, and taken as the gospel truth by the gullibles of the world. No matter how outlandish the story, somebody out there is going to believe it.

When I was growing up, we always had two newspapers. The Detroit News (right leanings) and the Detroit Free Press (more to the left). When it came time for political endorsements by the Editorial team, you knew that the News would back the Republicans and the Freep would back the Democrats. The thing was, if you read both and did some reasoning, you could probably pick out the best candidate for the office. 

Today, the newspapers are pretty much a joke, and TV news is not much better. I used to love talk radio, but thanks to the Limbaughs of the world, I've given it up. Middle of the road has pretty much disappeared. Too many drank the orange kool aid. I just want to go back to a society that wasn't wrapped up in name calling and bigotry.

Later.