During the first two weeks of May 2024, the earth was struck with a series of solar flares
that caused the northern lights to extend as far south as Florida. These geomagnetic storms disrupt power grids, satellites, GPS and radio signals. Fear not, your cellphone and FM radio generally use line-of-sight terrestrial towers and antennae, so these items should still function. However, AM radio, shortwave radio signals, and other high frequency signals bounce off the earth’s ionosphere to get their range. Since the ionosphere is affected by these geomagnetic storms, some signals can be temporarily blacked out. All of these threats reminded me of the article that I wrote in a previous newsletter in February, namely, “The Three Mile an Hour World”.
There, I expressed the relative slowness of life in the past, especially when it concerns
communication. Yes, everything was done by handwritten letters that were transported either by foot or by horse before the invention of the railway system and telegraph. That pace was “The Three Mile an Hour World”. At least there wasn’t an electrical communication blackout as happened in 1859!
https://www.history.com/news/a-perfect-solar-superstorm-the-1859-carrington-event
Back then, not only was the speed of a finished letter slow, but that actual writing of a letter was also slow. Everything today is so much faster, as we use social media, texting, and email. However, one should ask oneself if speed is necessarily better?
Well, this past month my latest piece of technology arrived in the mail, that is “snail mail”.
No, it was not a new smartphone, tablet, or laptop. Instead, it was a flexible stub nib fountain pen accompanied by bottled ink and stationery. It has taken some time and practice to acquire the technique of the new pen, as it is unlike other pens. You must fill it with ink yourself, and when you write with it, the upstrokes of your cursive letters are in a narrower width than the broader downstrokes. This variation gives your writing a calligraphy-like appearance. In the end, my handwriting seems to have improved, for I must slow down to write in this manner. The slant, spacing, and height of the letters are important to keep in mind, as the variation in pressure on the pen’s nib can affect the amount of ink placed on the paper. It has made my correspondence to my pen pals more….well…artistic. Their response has been very positive, considering that my usual cursive handwriting was stuck at the Grade 3 level, as it was taught to me in elementary school. Certainly, communication via social media, texting, or emails can not compete with this actual physical letter, even if a computer might be capable of using a more artistic font and greater speed.
Finally, I shall inform you of the present means by which I practise my cursive handwriting.
I have started writing out by hand, Paul’s “Letter to The Romans”, as a letter, that is, without chapters and verses. It truly looks just like a piece of correspondence similar to my letters to my pen pals. Yet, I find it fascinating, how deeply personal it has become as I rewrite it. There seems to be a greater appreciation of Paul’s insight and feelings in the writing experience, than I would have had by merely reading it. Perhaps the writing of this scripture in this fashion is akin to the practice of “lectio divina”, or “divine reading” that I used to develop my sermons. Thus, the connection of pen, ink, fingers, paper, arm, eyes, and mind together seem to affect the heart. Now, I can appreciate the experience of the monks of the past copying the Bible in their scriptorium, before the printing press was invented. So, go ahead. Give it a try, even if you only use the writing materials you have at hand. I think that you will find it vastly more rewarding than hearing and reading scripture alone. In addition, it will be a welcome break from all the screen time that we accumulate in our modern world.
Rev. Martin Dawson (retired)