50+ Lifestyles

Just Saying…

By Q.C. Jones

Celebrate January

During these frigidly cold days of January, the Holiday Season quickly fades into oblivion.  A few of our readers may be snuggled up in the cozy sweater or PJs left under the Tree by that Jolly Elf.  A couple more folks may be pursuing this publication with a leftover cup of eggnog while comfortably seated in front of a space heater.

A depressing thought.

The Holidays of December are long gone. We face a long winter season of frigid temperatures and a time completely devoid of official celebration.

But, let your spirits rise and join me in Festive Excitement.

January 23rd is National Handwriting Day.  The event falls on the birthday of a guy whose hand-written signature was revolting, at least to one English Monarch.  John Hancock was the Governor of Massachusetts, back when that mattered.  He served as the President of the Second Continental Congress and was the first to place his impressive signature on the American Declaration of Independence.  The first time I laid eyes on this piece of art, I was impressed.  Johnny boy’s signature was big, bold, neatly written. And in a very stylized cursive hand.

The point of all this? After something like 5,000 years, handwriting has become a dying art. I just read that as of the latest tally in 2020, only 21 states still require cursive writing as part of their curriculum. The QCA is a battleground with Illinois falling on the required side and Iowa on the other. I have mixed emotions about the whole thing.

I recently became the recipient of a small collection of letters penned by my father in about 1950.  All of them were written in his personal cursive hand. First the negatives.  Despite his education and intellect, I had a difficult time deciphering some of the words. Let’s just say, these were quickly penned personal letters, so I doubt he spent time recopying the messages. Some passages contained required a bit of interpretation. If I had not been trained in cursive, they would have been impossible to ever understand.

On the positive level, in several paragraphs within the letter I felt a bit of his emotions shining through. The swirls and loops were more pronounced.  Further, even though I had not seen his handwriting for several decades, there was little doubt the words were from his own hand.  In some ways I felt reconnected with him. I liked this.

Continuing our journey on the whole handwriting thing, allow your pal QC Jones to share a bit of historical minutia with you. Handwriting first appeared around 3,100 BC on clay tablets found in ancient Sumeria.  For those of you with a Biblical background, Ur was the largest city in Sumeria and the hometown of Bible Patriarch Abram.

The Greeks further developed handwriting about 800 BC.  Proving handwriting is foundational to Western Civilization, Homer (the great Greek Poet, not to be confused with the Bart Simpson’s father) wrote in his own hand.   

Handwriting cures what ails you.

The experts tell us handwriting is good for you. In my exhausting five minutes of research for this entry, I stumbled over at least two dozen articles on the therapeutic effects of handwriting. I am going to share my three favorites:

1. Researchers say people who take handwritten notes improve their memory on the topic and slip into deeper thought than those using some other approach.
2. Handwriting forces our brains to slow down, thus reducing anxiety and mental stress.
3. Because the act of writing by hand simultaneously engages motor skills, visual mechanisms, and brain activity, it improves our neuro-system and coordination, and battles dementia.

Somehow, my second-grade teacher forgot to mention all these advantages.

My second-grade teacher was a wonder woman. Mrs. Nancy Corzine was the mother of Jon Corzine who later went on to become the Governor of New Jersey.  She had a powerful manner with the kids in her classroom. She instilled my love for the study of fossils, Native American artifacts, and the science behind the weather.  I loved every second of my class time, except cursive writing. I was a lumbering, uncoordinated kid at age seven, and if someone were to find samples of my cursive style, they might believe it was an experiment to teach monkeys how to scribble. I struggled and would never hold myself as a role model in these endeavors.  Mrs. Corzine, forgive me.

I will be celebrating January 23rd.

Through some ironic twist in the cosmos, January 23rd brings together much positive energy. Besides the holiday covered in this story, the day is National Pie Day. I like pie – a lot.

John Hancock, QC Jones, and a lovely little girl named Ms. L were all born on January 23.

Write us a card…. Just Saying