Typewriter's "transformative power" (#117; Topic N)

Yesterday's Washington Post has an article, complete with a photo, of a 1910 Corona typewriter found by three 12-year olds in a neighbor's basement. Now on display at the Arlington Central Library, it invites "anyone who wants to share their memories of the transformative power of the typewriter" to visit it. I have no idea what is meant by a typewriter's "transformative power," but I do have a fond memory. It was during the 1949-50 academic year, when I was enrolled at the University of Pennsylvania's Wharton school as a graduate student. To earn an MBA, I needed to write a thesis, which, of course, had to be typed. The going rate for typing at the time was 25 cents per page. Assuming that my thesis would be 75 pages long, and assuming that I needed a draft, that meant a total page count of 150, or an outlay of $37.50. Considering that the tuition for the academic year was only $500, that was a lot of money. One day, at the Student Union, I saw an ad, posted on a bulletin board, that a fellow student was selling his typewriter for $25. I did not know whether this was a good price, but, since having a typewriter would allow me to type the thesis myself, thereby saving me $37.50, I bought it -- a used Remington, perhaps 20~30 years old, about my age (I was 21 at the time). The seller was a tough bargainer, refusing to budge; I paid the asking price. Later, I learned that I paid too much, but it was too late; the seller refused to take it back. I knew how to type when in college in China; in fact, I had a portable typewriter, a Smith Corona, bought new -- and, thus, newer than the Remington. After earning my MBA, being unable to return to China, I enrolled at the University of Illinois's PhD program in Accountancy, rated No. 1 in the nation. Many courses I took there required term papers and, to earn a PhD, I had to write a dissertation. I managed to do all these on the Remington. Though I have moved many times during the interim 57 years, this bulky black box is always with me -- now in retirement as I, it has contributed mightily toward my well-being during its active years.
Posted at 8:31 pm, Tuesday, April 4, 2006