If you were born after 1975-- you can probably hardly remember life without your personal computer. I was born in 1970 and I have a vague recollection of getting Apple computers in my sixth grade classroom. They were fun. I played math games on them.
My first real memory of using a computer on a regular basis was in my yearbook class during my junior and senior years of high school. We were designing double-page spreads on graph paper and then transferring it all over to an Apple, saving it on a floppy and mailing the creation into the publisher. The beginning stages of graphic design.
I met my husband the next year during my Freshman year of college. He was a senior and neither of us had a computer. Oh, I had to take a general education course on how to use Word Perfect, but like everyone else, I still did all of my English compositions and history essays on the electric typewriter that I had purchased the summer before with graduation money. I thought it was very cutting edge because it had a correct ribbon. I didn't even have to use white out! Spencer finally broke down and bought a Commodore 64 during the last couple of months of college because he anticipated having a lot of writing to do when he arrived at seminary. He never really did master the thing. The last night of his senior year, he was frantically trying to get his paper to print as he and his roommate poured over the instruction manual. In the end, he couldn't get the dot matrix printer to print the text within the confines of the perforation. The next day, he ended up handing in a twenty page paper that was all connected-- "accordion style." Incidentally, he handed that paper in to Dr. Bayer's secretary at 4:59 pm, one minute before the Redford School of Theology was closed for Christmas break. We ran across campus, shoved the paper into the unsuspecting secretary's hands and piled into a crowded car with enough Keith Green in the stereo and enough change in our pockets to make the eight hour drive toward southern Arkansas for the wedding of close friends. Spencer was to be the best man and I, the wedding singer. Those were the days.
The next semester, he embarked upon the seminary years and as he had correctly assumed, he did have a lot of writing to do. And he did it. First with pencil and pad and then he would transfer it all (or get someone else to transfer it all) onto his computer. That's right-- he had not yet learned the art of composing on the computer. No joke. He would write the entire length of his paper by longhand and then hand it to me for the typing. This was all great fun until we started having children. (We got married at the end of his first year of seminary.) Now that I had babies waking up in the middle of the night, staying up until two o'clock in the morning was starting to losing it's appeal.
Fast forward twelve years later, and all of those memories came flooding back at me last night. I was remembering endless nights of my husband frantically ripping another page out of his spiral and running it over to my desk in the next room to be typed out on our Mac (yes, we finally ditched the Commodore) while at the same time downing cups pots of coffee. Spencer was supposed to turn in the first three chapters of his dissertation last Monday, but things haven't changed all that much from the days when we were running across campus with the accordion paper. His doctoral advisor graciously approved an extension, giving him five extra days to get everything together and now the paper is due today. At noon.
I stayed up with my husband until 2 am last night-- just like the old days. No, there was no frantic ripping of pages from the spiral. Instead he kept e-mailing me, from his office to the house, attachments of chapters to be edited. I would download, print out and mark them up with a red pen. Then I would hop in our van, call him on my cell phone as I was pulling into the church parking lot and deliver the next stack of edited papers.
The technology has changed, but not the fun that came from the sense of camaraderie that we shared. I just hope we can make it to Kansas City by noon.
Hi, Michelle!
I'm in Kansas City until Saturday afternoon. Gorgeous here today!
Fun post, and best to you and hubby on the dissertation stuff. Sweet memories.
Posted by: Clemntine | April 20, 2007 at 08:41 PM
That's how I used to do edits too, until I discovered the wonderful "highlighter" feature in Microsoft Word which basically works like an old-fashioned yellow highlighter (or whatever color you so desire), allowing the editor to correct, highlight changes, then email back.
Best wishes on the rest of the dissertation. May you enjoy many more sleepless nights of bonding/editing together!
Posted by: Sheryl | April 20, 2007 at 11:10 PM
Tell Spencer I'm rooting for him. This is such a beautiful picture of things to come in a few months at our house. Jay
Posted by: Jay | April 21, 2007 at 10:17 AM
I'm totally grinning reading this, picturing this, understanding this. Hubby wrote his first book longhand in composition books, and he and I both typed it into the computer. . . Thank God (seriously) that we now have two computers, both are comfortable composing at the keyboard, and that MS has a "track changes" feature for when I edit. (Two term papers with massive endnotes are in the works--one due Monday, the following due on the 30th. . .)
Not quite to the point of dissertation, but eventually. . .
Posted by: TulipGirl | April 21, 2007 at 11:22 AM
Noticed you were an SBU alum--my husband and I met there, too, where I received a B.A and an M.R.S. ;)
blessings to you--my husband did the M.Div. and next fall will start the D.Min--I didn't type every paper, but I proofread each one and sure learned a lot doing!
Posted by: Julie | April 22, 2007 at 11:39 AM
What memories this brought back. I can't remember when I last thought about my self-correcting Selectric or even that perforated paper and the dot matrix printer.
Holding my breath for you and hubby today.
Posted by: Barb | April 23, 2007 at 11:50 AM
Anxiously wondering if you made it?
Posted by: Everyday Mommy | April 23, 2007 at 06:47 PM
AWWWWW!! I remember those days too! What teamwork! hee hee. I am soooo excited for him (and you!) Tell us if you guys made it in time! :)
Posted by: Cynthia | April 23, 2007 at 09:01 PM
I thought i was so cool taking my Brother Word processor off to college with me.
Really, it was just a typewriter with a big screen. But I felt mighty sassy with it.
I ended my college days with our old Commodore with a dot matrix printer.
That is a sweet story of the 2 of you working together.
blessings,
Karla
Posted by: Karla~Looking Towards Heaven | April 26, 2007 at 12:32 PM
What a good wife you are. Oh man seminary papers are hard enough I don't even want to think of what Doc. papers are like....all I can say is "no thank you" getting a masters will probably be the stop for me unless God throws a curve ball at me and leads me into Doc. work. And Dr. Bing Boyd Bayer paper, phew....good ole' Redford department! Now that brings back the old days.
Posted by: Em | April 26, 2007 at 08:27 PM
My stepdad had a business computer and his office in our house, so I remember turning in some dot matrix high school papers. But, yes, I had the autocorrect typewriter (actually it was like a word processor) for my college work.
Posted by: Jennifer, Snapshot | April 27, 2007 at 01:08 PM
Oh, but the end is getting near. That's the part I like. If my husband goes for a PhD I'll probably have a cow - then help him edit his papers...
Posted by: katherine@raisingfive | May 07, 2007 at 03:43 PM
Happy Birthday!!
Posted by: Megan | May 14, 2007 at 05:33 PM
My hubby and I both work from home and we end up emailing each other, from the same house!
Great post. Fun to visit your blog for the first time.
Sandy
For Reluctant Entertainers
Posted by: Sandy | May 19, 2007 at 10:00 PM
Well? Did you make it? Are you coming back?
Posted by: grafted branch | May 22, 2007 at 07:26 AM
HAHA!! I TOTALLY remember all the computer/lack of computer stuff you are talking about!!! I remember my dad bringing a monster of a computer home when I was in middle school- we were the "cool" family because we had a home computer!! LOL!!!!
His,
Mrs. U
Posted by: Mrs. U | May 23, 2007 at 06:18 AM
Hey...I am wondering too...have you fallen into the "chasm" of no return? I keep checking in with you to see if you have posted anything new. Missing you!
Posted by: The Elementary Writing Chef | May 30, 2007 at 07:13 PM
By the way... your lousy "sister in law" has goofed again! Happy BELATED Birthday!!! LOVE YOU!!!!!
Posted by: The Elementary Writing Chef | May 30, 2007 at 07:16 PM
love your blog, had a good giggle. love always me
Posted by: Deborah | June 13, 2007 at 05:37 AM
Are you never coming back?
Posted by: Grafted Branch@Restoring the Years | August 10, 2007 at 10:52 PM
Are you never coming back?
Posted by: Grafted Branch@Restoring the Years | August 10, 2007 at 10:52 PM
Michelle, Have you abandoned us?? Hope all is well ...
Posted by: Sheryl | August 15, 2007 at 03:00 PM
Did you make it? !!!
It's so refreshing to hear stories about couple teamwork! From the days of running with the accordian paper to the now savy emailing and editing, it's awesome to hear that you two accomplish the big things together. God gives us many opportunities to need each other, to bring us closer to each other, and ultimately Him.
I hope it all came together!!!
Posted by: Kim of Kim & Jason | August 29, 2007 at 10:29 AM
Posted by: Sarah | September 05, 2007 at 10:29 PM