What is that? his granddaughter pointed to the top of a short bookcase at the exposed keys of a brother Charger 11

he appreciated she didnt try and touch it without asking first

his daughter and son-in-law had done their workinstilled a sense of other peoples belongings  If it’s not yours. Look. Don’t touch. 

that was refreshing it also saved him from breaking one of her fingers Thats a typewriter baby

A type writer  ?

Yes A typewriter why would she know what a typewriter was  her generation wouldnt use one  it was odd to her A typewriter is a precursor  which means it precededcame before  computers The tall mechanical keys are aligned exactly like the shallow keys on your parents laptops have the same QWERTY keyboard

I know that.

You know what

What you said.

What did I say

You know.

I do  What did I say

You said about that   that  that thing.

Typewriter

Yes. Typewriter.

Precusor

Huh?

Precusor

I remember you said the word.

Precusor Came before In a sense Im a precusor in direct line to your mother and to you and your sister  Precursor  Ancestor  Some fun huh

Ohyeah.

Yeah   QWERTY

That’s a funny word.

It is another fun word Do you remember

A  ahh   like  like a  keyboard?

Yes Try not to guess baby If you dont knowask Always ask Be curious Thats how youthats how you and how I learn Speaking for myself if I dont knowI wanna know The smartest thing you can do is ask a question because theres no such thing as a stupid question If someone says Thats a stupid question a dumb question Id give them a lot of room and decide whether or not theyd make a good friend

Why do you say that?

Do you want to associate yourself with someone who easily accuses someone else of being stupid Or dumb Those can be hurtful words hurt feelings

Aren’t some people are stupid?

Perhaps Though I like to think that either theyre too lazy to find out because they could if they wanted to they dont have to be ignorant or something may have happened to them that has diminished them or their brain

You’re strange, Grampa.

Not really baby I remember longhand printing and cursive I remember shorthand  like a secret code I remember typewriters then electric typewriters and then wordprocessors then acronyms appearedthen compressed words coined words I make up words all the time Then computers the WORD program WORD helped me go nuts  So you can say more accurately  do you understand the word accurate . .

. . Yes . .

. . Yes   What 

Accurate. Like more  detailed. Like a drawing. Like stick figures are to drawing a figure of a person or an animal. Clouds.

Clouds  Yes  A stick cloudwould be boring  Very good So you can say Im nuts or crazy  either more so than strange  You wont hurt my feelings

Grampa, nuts or crazy isn’t nice.

Im not nicedont make that mistake Im like a mirror baby Im going to treat you exactly like you treat me  I am not nice

I think you nice.

Thank you But you treat me nicely  Get it

I . . I think I do.

You do If you treat me badly Ill be in your face before you can blink Thats how I am  

That’s a little scary, Grampa.

It shouldnt be Not if you remember to treat others as you want to be treated I think that makes sense What do you think

I think you’re right.

I think youre right

   

2346,  Friday,  12  10. 18

1739, Day-between-Two-Ts, 24  10. 18