Some time ago, I got my first typewriter. It was partially meant to be an ornament, but somewhere along I started to use it for actual writing [1].
The typewriter that I got is an Olympia SM9, commonly used by Kurt Vonnegut (in addition to his much more famous Smith-Corona). Hence, the typewriter was named Kurt. Much of my writing has actually switched to the typewriter. I found that the flow of the thoughts is different when written on a computer, by hand, or on a typewriter. At least I feel like it is.
But anyways, this is not meant to be a post about typewriters. There are many better writers singing their praises. This post is meant to be about something that Kurt Vonnegut said.
Because recently, I’ve been feeling… anxious. Unhappy. Unsafe. Like the world around me is somewhat going to shit. However, reading, I found this quote which made me sit down behind my typewriter to draft this post in the first place.
And How should we behave during this Apocalypse? We should be unusually kind to one another, certainly. But we should also stop being so serious. Jokes help a lot. And get a dog, if you don’t already have one.
Not sure why I found this passage comforting. Maybe because it’s giving me a permission to laugh; joke. Cue the kindness though. Cue the comedy. He can keep the dog thoug.
[1] In retrospect, it was probably inspired by one of McKinnon’s videos on journaling.