Ink in my pocket

Believe it or not, when I was about 10 (1958), we began cursive writing at school with “dip pens” or “stick pens,” as we called them. They were literally a stick with a nib stuck in the end. I remember mine was yellow. We had to carry a bottle of ink with us to and from school. Yikes!!

We prepared a new pen by rubbing the nib with saliva, vinegar, or a similar acidic substance. To write, we dipped our pen into the ink bottle to “fill” the nib, and then we could write two or three words before refilling. We had to blot each word with our pink blotter. A blotter is made of highly absorbent paper and is a bit larger than a five-dollar bill.

It was an interesting art, but not terribly effective when trying to do our homework.

With no schoolbags back then, I’m amazed I never broke my ink bottle while carrying it in my pocket. Ah, yes, the good old days, no iPhones in my pocket, just a bottle of ink. What would today’s kids think of that?