Here’s a post NOT related to the Typing Assignments. I know, it’s about time, eh?
When I first started to get into the typing hobby, I decided that typing letters for type-pals was a good way to use my typewriters. I also experienced an interesting phenomenon. When I would bring home a typewriter, one of my cats, Elliott, would immediately jump up on whatever surface the new machine was put on and promptly begin to rub his cheeks on the typewriter, putting his scent on it. He also likes to climb into the top part of the cases of the portable typewriters.
Then I started to use the strange machines. This didn’t deter Elliott, who stuck first his nose and then a paw to try and check out the strange moving parts. This resulted in a few gentle smacks from the typeslugs. The first time, he stopped and looked at me as though saying, “What was that for?” All I could do is laugh. This was the case for the first couple of machines. He has since stopped pawing and sniffing at the moving typeslugs.
In one of the letters I sent to a type pal, I mentioned how Elliott did these things. The person I wrote sent me a letter with a small drawing of a cat and a typewriter at the top of one of the pages with a comment that read, Typo-Kitty. I thought that was hilarious, based on what I had already seen Elliott do.
Elliott cat is a gray tabby with black stripes. I named him after former Blues goalie, Brian Elliott. He is the youngest cat in my house. In the picture below, he is standing beside the oldest typewriter I own, a Smith Premier No. 4 from 1901.
