MY DREAM JOB

by Danna Shirley

All through my childhood I believed I would be a teacher just like my mother. She taught second grade and as I grew older, I would help decorate her room, get bulletin boards ready, line desks in neat rows, and make name cards for each student . . . always feeling like I was the teacher. Throughout the year I would grade papers and help make plans and prepare for special activities. My father even lined the walls of our garage with blackboards and I “played” school downstairs in my imaginary classroom.

Yes, I always wanted to be a teacher. That is, until I sat down behind a typewriter in tenth grade and took my first typing class. I excelled on this instrument. It was as if I was a musician sitting behind a piano playing a beautiful song. 

Of course, in 1964 all typewriters were manual so I had to have strong fingers as I banged on the keyboard striking each letter soundly to make sure it printed on the page. My typing speed increased steadily. I entered a typing contest in my senior year and came in third place typing 64 words a minute—on a manual typewriter.     

Upon graduation I thought I would do the expected and attend junior college but when I got my first job with the Atomic Energy Commission right out of high school, my fate was set. My first paycheck insured that I was happy and satisfied. This job required using a typewriter and teletype machine, which I mastered quickly.

When electric typewriters came along, they took some getting used to but saved your fingers. Then correct-o-ribbons were added and I was in heaven. When my own trusty typewriter began to fail me, I asked my husband for a new one and he said it was time to get a computer.  I freaked!

“No,” I said, “all I want is an electric typewriter with a nice correct-o-ribbon. I don’t want to learn the computer!” He promised that he would show me how to do just one thing at a time . . . that I would not be overwhelmed. He brought me kicking and screaming into the computer-age and I am so thankful he did. 

I’ve worked with wonderful people doing wonderful jobs because I learned the computer. I’ve been able to volunteer at church, with the Red Cross, and several club organizations because I have computer skills.

As I look back on what I could accomplish with a manual typewriter and what I can accomplish today, they are worlds . . . no galaxies apart.  I’m so glad, for it has made my “Dream Job” easier and more enjoyable as time goes on.