Wednesday, February 01, 2006

remington writer




i think i'm in love with my new typewriter! hail craigslist for this find! 15 dollars!!! for this old timey remington typewriter. it lived with this beautiful artist, a., in my hood. i walked to her house in the dark and rain to pick the typewriter up this evening. first of all, her house, which looked plain on the outside, was beautiful and homey inside. actually first of all, a. was beautiful. she peered out cautiously when i rang the bell and then opened the door wide. she had crinkly long red hair (tied back). beautiful fairy hair and a broad, sweet smile and beautiful face. so secondly, the flat. rugs and warm hardwood floors and paintings on the walls and food cooking in the kitchen. beautiful furniture and colors. i really couldn't even look around because i was there for the typewriter. but i know that that place was filled with beautiful things and i wished i could look around more.

i came unprepared. i thought i could fit the typewriter in my backpack and walk home. then i realized it weighs like 50 pounds (it rivals my sewing machine of lead). i think a. had a hard time parting with remington when it came down to it. she put a paper in it (i coudn't figure out how because it was locked) and started typing. the ribbon is well used but does make faint, lovely letters! a. appreciated the loveliness of the letters - she typed quite a few of them. in fact it seemed she had a hard time stopping! and she appreciated how the typewriter looks (who wouldn't!), but i guess she's getting rid of things (according to her dinner friend) and the heavy typewriter belonged to a writer friend who had lived there and left it behind when she moved. a.'s dinner friend drove me home (5 blocks away). very nice, especially considering i was only paying $15 for the typewriter. the typewriter dinged in the back seat as we drove. cute.

one thing i love about SF is that there are so many houses that look kinda beat up on the outside (and are beat up), but when you get inside them, they're so beautiful. so many treasures. i wish i could see more insides of SF houses. maybe i'll have to do some more craigslist spying, i mean shopping.

i will be taking more (better hopefully) pictures of remington in the daytime and when i have the strength to lift her from the floor to a more honorable location.

pressing the keys is VERY satisfying.

5 comments:

Anonymous said...

What a lovely story. Congratulations on your beautiful new purchase!

mati rose said...

i love this story. congrats on remy! i'm already nicknaming your new love:)

Anonymous said...

enjoy!

Anya said...

fantastic! Makes me miss my parents' typewriter... the one I used to type all 12 of my college applications and essays... man that was a pain. But now I'm reminiscing, so I miss it.. ; )

Anonymous said...

love love love this typewriter. i have one that i adore as well but it's not old. it's a new, sort of cute, version. i should photograph it. thanks for inspiring me & i can't wait to see more of your typing!!