|
|
|
About Me - My Life Story
|
Having worked with my hands most of my life, it was most unlikely for me to pick up the pen. I've owned and
successfully operated a full service restaurant, fast food restaurant, photographic studio, and a car-care
center. I've worked at the Manned Spacecraft Center in the Photographic
Division, during the space craze, when the eyes of the world focused on
Houston. Categorically, the writing experience is the most challenging and the most rewarding. It started with a phone call
from my son Joe:
![["Hey dad, you want my old computer?"]](http://sjdimaggio.com/joehelm.jpg) "Hey dad , you want my old computer? I got a new one."
Fast-forward two weeks: I'm sitting in front of a monitor being
intimidated. "This thing isn't so smart," I told my wife Sharon;" it can
only do what you tell it to do."
"Yeah, well tell it to do something," she said, intending to be witty,
but it sounded more like sarcasm to me.
"Huh," I said, pretending not to hear.
"I said, tell it to do something."
"You have to know how to type. I'll tell it to do something when I know
how to type."
Fast forward: I'm reading How to Use Mavis Beacon Teaches Typing on
your IBM PC or Compatible Computer. "This should be a snap; I took
one-half year of typing in high school." Trying to make my fingers remember
what they had learned so many years ago turned out not to be a snap.
"Why do you have all those 'j's' sprinkled around on your page; and what
does 'jbook' spell?" Sharon said, looking over my shoulder.
"That 's book. The old typewriter I'm used to required a lot of push on
the keys to get them to work. This thing requires a very light touch. I use
the 'j' as a pivot point, and every time I type the letter 'o' or the letter
'jp' I get a 'j' in front of each letter. That 's why I end up with words like
'jpeach ' or 'jorange'. I don 't even know I 'm doing it because I 'm looking at
the copy."
"Why don 't you look at the screen? That way you 'll know when you make a
mistake."
"Knowing when I make a mistake would help me adjust, but I 'd have to
make up something to type."
"So, make up something," she said, substituting body language for
sarcastic witticism.
"I will!" I said, and I did, and I hope you like it.
I should have said "I did, I did, I did," because I wrote three books before I could type "book" without a "J."
The experience made me wish I'd paid extra attention to my high school English teacher.
|
|
