Thursday, September 17, 2020
What was special?
The yak picture in previous item stirred up an OLD memory of a salient moment, an AHA moment, a memory that hadn't popped up in 60 years.
I think the stirrer was the brick building, which I used in modified form in the Great Smith set. The Great Smith version reminded me of the real building in the memory.
This AHA happened in 1955. The sign was on the side of a laundry in Noble, where my parents lived at the time.
I was 5, and had been reading books for a couple years, so the words weren't special. What was the AHA? The big P serving as the initial letter for all three words. I marveled at the artistic efficiency.
In an older culture the AHA, plus the fact that I was competently reading at 5, would have led to an early and easy career choice. Typographer. Apprentice at 7, master at 21.
Unfortunately the cultural expectations and economic setup didn't lead in that direction, so I wasted 20 years trying to do math instead of letters.
Calibrating: Fortunately, one piece of the older culture was still intact in 1955. I was free to wander all over town and find my own AHAs, in vacant lots and creeks and letters. My mother was glad to have me out of the house, and probably would have been gladder if I just disappeared.
This AHA happened in 1955. The sign was on the side of a laundry in Noble, where my parents lived at the time.
I was 5, and had been reading books for a couple years, so the words weren't special. What was the AHA? The big P serving as the initial letter for all three words. I marveled at the artistic efficiency.
In an older culture the AHA, plus the fact that I was competently reading at 5, would have led to an early and easy career choice. Typographer. Apprentice at 7, master at 21.
Unfortunately the cultural expectations and economic setup didn't lead in that direction, so I wasted 20 years trying to do math instead of letters.
Calibrating: Fortunately, one piece of the older culture was still intact in 1955. I was free to wander all over town and find my own AHAs, in vacant lots and creeks and letters. My mother was glad to have me out of the house, and probably would have been gladder if I just disappeared.Labels: skill-estate, TMI
¶ 9:37 PM
