After a slight dip into the deep waters that is the typewriter community, I have found that actor and writer Tom Hanks acts as a godfather in the typewriter circle. His interest in the collection of these old things acts as a catalyst for people to ask questions about typewriters and the history surrounding their progression of design. Hanks is often quoted saying he gives typewriters out as gifts when people show an interest and encourages his friends to attempt typing every day. In a recent news story, a family decided to spend time writing out thank you notes every day to their friends, family members, and neighbors as an act of meditated gratitude. Following their viewing of California Typewriter, Hank’s typewriter documentary, they wrote the godfather himself a letter explaining their new plan to write out thank you letters and asked if he would be willing to provide their family with a typewriter to take on the task. They mentioned that they would be using the machine every day, and, if the exercise proved useful, they would be willing to provide another interested family with a typewriter of their own to also try this form of family bonding and gratitude. Inspired by the request, Tom Hanks sent the family their very own typewriter and encouraged the children of the family to take part in the activity in order to understand the value of taking the time to sit down, process one’s thoughts, and physically write them out. As I am a fan of Tom Hanks’s work on and off the screen, I decided I would take the time to sit down and write him a letter of my own in thanks for his inspiration to get into this fascinating community and for the impact he’s had on my life as a creator of content.
Dear Mr. Tom Hanks,
I recently watched your documentary California Typewriter in which you, and other collectors, explain the personal value you associate with typewriters. To be fair, I was an easy sell as I am a huge fan of your work and of old things. This film, along with some encouragement of a friend who also was interested in typewriters, encouraged me to dive in to the thrilling market of typewriters. I want to thank you for that inspiration, not only in the way of typewriters, but also as a constant reminder, through your films, that things get better.
I grew up loving movies like The Terminal and Cast Away and cannot tell you how many times my mother and I watched You’ve Got Mail when it was late, and we couldn’t sleep. Your characters, always different, but somehow all holding the same amount of Hanks-ian charm, always found a way to make the best out of situations that could be stressful or disheartening. As I’ve gotten older, I still find the optimism that you infuse into every character contagious. I’ve never left one of these films, which I often revisit, feeling worse about the world. That can be a difficult thing to remember when the world is often full of stressors and the self-imposed expectations that come with being a full time student in a Master’s degree program.
I am also a lover of old things. I watch old movies, drive a broken car from the 80s, and constantly wear flannels that I pick up in secondhand shops. When I saw your documentary about these people who find and save these fantastic machines, I knew that I was about to be hooked. I’ve never considered myself a writer, but it didn’t matter. I saw how you and others loved and cared for these machines, and I needed to have one. I found a 1964 Smith-Corona Corsair Deluxe. I bought her and immediately named her Caroline. I can’t even express the kind of joy and fulfillment comes from being able to slow myself down, think about what I want to say, and just write. I’m not trying to write for anyone else, but being able to express myself in a manual way. It doesn’t need to be saved anywhere; it doesn’t need to be published or posted to exist. By writing a passage on a typewriter, I can will into existence thoughts and feelings that have gone through the physical process of being formulated into real words, un-spellchecked, and shocked through a plastic key that moves a hammer to tap out these very thoughts in ink.
As my final project in my Master’s level Communications Media Production class, I’ve been tasked with creating a collection of media productions based on a singular topic. I have chosen to dive headfirst into typewriter examination. I’ve had to create several videos featuring typewriter related products, a few podcasts, and several articles that would further inform a typewriter novice like myself. I’ve found this to be an exercise in expression as well as a meditated examination of what I find so interesting about these machines. It’s also forcing me to write using my Smith Corona on a daily basis which I have found to be a most useful exercise.
I wanted to thank you for being a positive influence in my personal history and for directing me toward this fascinating universe of typewriter collection and appreciation. I may have gotten there eventually, but by having your film act as an inciting incident in this plot, I am now deeply entrenched in a culture which I love. It can be so easy to get lost in the daily aspects of life that often seem so heavy, but by taking a step back and appreciating the little things like glass top keys or the different sounding dings carriage returns make on different models or even the fact that you can type out a whole document on a typewriter and never need to hit the print button, I have found a daily reminder that not everything has to be so serious. Thank you for taking the time to create for the rest of us.
Sincerely,
Sarah E.