My love of pens emerged as a child, when I would dip stalks of plants and
twigs into poke berry ink and write with them. I also used the charred ends
of matches or sticks toasted in a fire for drawing. When I got the Sherlock
bug, I used Q-tips soaked in lemon juice to write secret messages. I have
fond memories of sitting in my great-uncle's attic, holding his collection
of antique fountain pens in my hands. I used the standard student's Sheaffer
(with turquoise ink) as a teenager for writing poetry and in my early 20's
bought my first vintage pen. A visiting child bent the tines and I thought
it was beyond repair, so I threw it out. During the long spell of child
rearing, I strayed from fountain pens with the exception of disposable Pilot
Varsity's that wouldn't be a great loss if my son used one as a tool to
disassemble the house. My pen addiction was limited to needle point rollers
when I could afford it - a new pen was always such a treat. Then, around the
turn of the century, I was in DC for a conference and visited the Washington
Pen kiosk at Union Station. The pens on display would probably have been
enough to rekindle the raging pen lust that lay dormant, but the real kicker
was the photo of Waterman's Serenite on the cover of PenWorld. I had to have
that pen! My boss at the time, who was attending the conference with me,
thought I was afflicted by some odd compulsive fetish until the salesman
admitted that yes, he too was totally enamored of pens. Not only pens, but
paper too. With that, she went fleeing off to other shops, leaving me to
drool over the image of Serenite.
I began a Grail quest for Serenite, which was not readily available in the
US at the time, and eventually added one to my family. But, as much as I
thought this pen the pinnacle of my pen passion, I soon found that I'd
contracted Compulsive Pen Collecting Disorder (CPCD), a rare form of
Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD). ÊThis disorder is characterized by
twitching and drooling at the sight of a fountain pen and a reckless
abandonment when bidding on eBay or visiting a pen show. ÊAs a result of my
compulsion, I have an eclectic collection of new and vintage pens that
includes Krone Nirvana, Conway Steward Dandy in amber, Platinum Calico and
Tortoise, Montblanc Meisterstuck and a vintage one, Namiki VP faceted,
Waterman Carene, Pelikan w/ flex nib, a couple of Retro 51's and Levenger
Truewriters. I also have a Sailor brush pen and some other less expensive
fun pens so that there's one in every room within close reach. Nibs are a
particular fascination for me and I sometimes buy a pen just for the nib. I
also love colored inks, PR Blue Suede a favorite. I have some restored and
waiting for resurrection vintage pens. I think my dream job would be to
restore and design pens, but I suspect that will have to wait till
retirement.
To pay for my addiction and mortgage, I am a mental health therapist working
with elementary age children. I am also a court certified mediator and
licensed Brain Gym teacher/consultant, but don't really earn money for these
things, as I do both pro bono at this time. I write reports on the side to
have some guilt-free funds for pens. One day I hope to be able to have time
to write for pleasure and return to watercolor painting, but retirement is
still a ways off. I live in the woods on a mountain-top plateau in the Blue
Ridge Mountains of Virginia with my cat, Shadow, and a variety of wildlife
that allow us to share their habitat. My son who's 32 lives in a nearby town
and works as a librarian and webmaster for their website, and part time at a
game store. I spend a good deal of time reading and writing in journals in
the winter and add gardening and yard work to that menu in the summer. I am
working on a journaling workshop that I would like to offer at our local
arts center. I suspect I have ulterior motives of passing on my affliction
for pens and beautiful journals to others in the area - then I can start a
support group for CPCD!!
I do have other interests to fill the time between pen catalogs. I'm in two
spiritually oriented study groups, one of which is a women's mediation group
and the other an Anthroposophical study group. I love music and have
compulsive bouts of link hopping on Amazon to find new groups. My son is
helping me become techno-literate and eventually I'll figure out how to use
the mp3 player and the gizmo he gave me to make it play in my car through
the radio. I dabble in aromatherapy for therapeutic uses as well as making
the house smell good. I doodle a lot, but haven't had time or space to get
back into watercolors, which was my passion in late teens and early 20's. I'
ve done some calligraphy and sumi painting on and off through the years and
recently bought a full flex pen so I can teach myself Spencerian script. My
reading tends to be sci-fi or professional development stuff, with side
tracks into arts and crafts books. I am almost as addicted to books as I am
to pens, but am running out of room. I used to make jewelry, but all the
supplies are still packed from my move to this house . 9 years ago. No time
now, but one day ..
However, I do love and have time to write and will respond to anyone who
wants to penpal about pens, mutual interests or the meaning of life. My
coolest penpals were an elementary school class of Inuit in Canada who
corresponded with my class when I was teaching a small, mixed-age group of
kids in Hawaii. We wrote them a letter on a coconut and the PO actually
mailed it to them. They wrote us back in English, but also sent a cassette
tape telling us of their favorite foods in Inuktitut. I guess after 9/11 we
can't be mailing coconuts anymore, but will send postcards of our lovely
mountains.
Other interests: journaling; art (doing & seeing); reading sci-fi,
psychology, philosophy & other work-related books; Anthroposophy; gardening;
nature activities of all kinds; aromatherapy (medical and esthetic); Brain
Gym; writing; and music (everything except rap and hip hop)
Links:
http://www.woot.com
http://www.braingym.org
http://www.freerice.com
http://www.anthroposophy.org/index1.php
www.thinkgeek.com
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