My name is Andy Abrahamson. I was born in 1958 in Massachusetts. Currently I live in the Cleveland, Ohio area with my wife Nancy and daughter Hannah. I have had a number of jobs in my 44 years: I was a school teacher, I’ve worked at a university, and currently I work at an eLearning company.

In 1975, at age 17, I purchased my first fountain pen – a Pelikan 120. I was in a pen store and I had “moment.” I saw this green and black pen and I had to have it. It was perhaps the first spontaneous thing I remember doing. My wife quips that I don’t even smile spontaneously.

In 1987 I purchased a Pelikan 200. I was in a university book store and saw this blue and black pen. I had to have it. Again, a spontaneous moment. A few years later I purchased a Parker 75. Again spontaneous. I began to realize that owning pens, or being owned by them, was an illness that I would need to get control over. My control lasted 10 years.

In early 2002 I completely lost my pen purchasing self control (PPSC) somewhere between the Aurora Optima and the Swan 3220. A Skyline and Lamy Safari soon followed. If I do not regain my PPSC soon, I may find that I am owned by a Pelikan 200 demonstrator with a Mottishaw-modified nib. My doctor informs me there is little hope for a cure, only that the desire for new pens will go into remission or my wife will take my credit card away.

Hannah, at age 9, has caught the pen enthusiasm (PE) virus herself. Her pens (we share the Pelikan 200 and the Safari) are proudly displayed in the kitchen where she can show them to all guests. She has also figured out that those pens that look really expensive probably are, so she likes them the most. If given the choice, she would buy pens rather than save for her college education. Problem is, so would her dad.

Recently, my coworker caught the PE virus from me. All it took was one Phileas and he was hooked. My wife, however, appears immune to the bug, and is convinced it is just a phase I am going through. She assures me that I will grow out of it. Little does she know.