Message in a Bottle, and Other Thoughts

This was a fun project, resulting in bona fide messages sealed in glass. We discussed the merits of actually tossing our bottles into - where, exactly? We're in the high desert, after all, almost a thousand miles from the ocean. Perhaps we can wait for spring runoff on the Rio Grande (last year's runoff was spectacularly high) and hope the bottles make it downstream of Elephant Butte reservoir into the southern reaches of the Rio Grande, hoping for the Gulf of Mexico. Most likely they'd get trapped in some brush along the riverbank and get buried in sand, or discarded as litter. Is tossing a glass bottle into the river littering, when there's a real message inside? Probably.

Another idea was to take a trip to California and toss it into the Pacific ourselves. Hmm, maybe.

Last weekend I sat down at the Skyriter and composed a one-pager about the merits of keeping it or not. As it turns out, it ended up in the hands of a young man eager to put it to good creative use. Here were my thoughts:



Going back further in time (in case you haven't figured it out, I'm dealing here with a backlog of writings) in mid-January I sat on Kevin's front porch (it must have been a warm January afternoon) and enjoyed a bit of writing on his Groma Kolibri, equipped with a green ribbon. This is the one I worked on earlier in 2019, and it's a sweet machine. For some reason I decided to underline the first letter of each paragraph, which is an interesting typographical idea, perhaps I'll do more of this. In the piece I mentioned "birdie time," this being our weekly visit where we try to get their bird used to our presence, as we'll be bird-sitting for them. Kevin also makes this wonderful statement, that I'm "a collector of typewriter experiences." Well spoken, and a great way to differentiate myself from the classic typewriter collector.



The Typewriter Bus idea mentioned above was my idea for a mobile typewriter bus for conducting public type-in events in various places. It could have school desks bolts to the floor with typewriters securely mounted, and an external fold-up sideboard table along the outside for standing-while-typing outside. I can envision a fold-up awning on either side for shade, and a 50-states typewriter bus tour. I only need lots of money and time. Maybe. Maybe not. But never let your dreams die.

The next three pieces were composed on 30 December 2019, again at Kevin's, using the Torpedo 18. It must've been a heck of a session, as it progresses from the first page involving a review of the last year as it pertains to the founding and growth of the ABQwerty Type Writer Society, to a short essay on pictures versus language and my desire to explore personal story-telling, to another short essay about my paper negative photography. A hodge podge of subjects, for certain.

2019 Year in Review:


On visual versus written media, and personal story-telling:


Thoughts on paper negative photography:


I should've been posting these pieces here as separate articles, but I do tend to procrastinate, more so lately. I hope you find this variety of writings to be of interest. Please leave a comment down below if you wish, I'd love to have a dialog with you about these ideas.