Our new president is sure signing his name a lot already. And he seems to want to show us each time he signs something. Unfortunately, his signature is not only illegible but also disturbing. Every time I see it displayed it reminds me of an electrocardiograph reading of ventricular tachycardia. V-tach is defined as a rapid heartbeat in excess of 100 beats per minute. The image resembles a saw blade of repetitive peaks on the ECG tracing. This condition can be fatal. During exercise, your heart rate certainly climbs well above 100 beats per minute. Not to worry. That is a valuable and healthy increase.
Cursive writing is no longer taught in our schools. Our children and young adults have grown up on keyboards. Not only can today’s young people not write in cursive, there is evidence that their computerized brains cannot read it either. Maybe with the long overdue welcome banning of students’ cellphones in class we will now have time for reintroducing cursive writing. I’m sure I’ve mentioned before that I used to bring a hammer labeled “Cellphone Silencer” to the first day of class each term. One sharp loud pound on the desk got the message across.
Good handwriting is a lost art form. We don’t have to go all the way back to the time of “the signers” to appreciate penmanship. My reference to John Hancock, of course, comes from his bold and prominently displayed signature on the signing of the Declaration of Independence. It is said that he signed in the center of the page with the intention of making it easy for King George to read without glasses. His signature became synonymous with patriotism and defiance in the face of tyranny.
My spouse’s handwriting is so gorgeous that she was paid for it. She addressed Christmas cards and envelopes for CEO big wigs. It really is one of her art forms. She obtained this beautiful skill from her elementary school training when, in those days, each student received a grade for their penmanship. Straight As, I’m sure.
I attended college with one of my three sisters. We owned and shared two items together during our college years. One was a green manual typewriter and the other a 1964 Dodge Dart (convertible). The typewriter was passed back and forth and helped maintain strong fingers and dexterity. The car burned more oil than gas. Unable to afford the costly repair, we would carry two 2-gallon cans of oil on our long trips home. We would pull into a gas station and tell the attendant “fill ’er up and check the gas, too.” (Yes youngsters, they used to pump your gas for you.) When my sister graduated a year ahead of me, I kept the car, and she got the typewriter. Trust me, she got the better part of the deal.
If the president wants his signature to become the icon that Hancock’s is, perhaps he should have someone else sign for him. He can certainly afford to pay someone to do that. Or better yet he could pay for lessons from my wife.
When I started writing this column more than four years ago, I promised myself I would stay away from politics. We don’t need more of that, and I leave that writing to the professionals. This piece is not political. As a former teacher, I am simply critiquing and commenting on the president’s poor penmanship, offering ways to improve it and trying to avoid it causing a V-tach episode of my own.
Jim Cross is a retired Fort Lewis College professor and basketball coach living in Durango. Reach him at cross_j@fortlewis.edu.
