The dark ages.....a 3 part series.

I have been on the 'blog sphere' for 9 1/2 to 10 years.  At least the 'internet' world as many know today.  AOL journals was the best time.  Our kids were peeking their noses into the MySpace world about the same time. But, let us begin a few years prior to the formal age of the WWW. 

 Newlywed, I successfully landed a new job as a Data Entry operator.   The company I worked for provided tech support to the defense department.  I was assigned to the procurement department entering contracts, revisions and such.  I was so important. I had my own office. It housed a desk, file cabinet, typewriter, word processor, and a computer which was linked to a main frame 4 buildings away in the very large business park.  Fancy digs for a young corporate girl. Yes, the dark ages of IT, this is why Jobs (Apple) vs Gates (Windows) fight was worth fighting.  It took 4-5 separate machines doing individual functions.  When Gates won the fight this was my demise as a young corporate girl.

Attached to the large word processor was a stand alone keyboard printer.  It's primary function was to print anything I typed on the word processor. Secondary, it would provide email.  This was the dark ages of IT.  Email was used so rarely.  For the Government rarer still.  They wanted everything in triplicate form.  Typed neatly on the nice IBM typewriter, always needing a paper trail.  I loathed carbon copies!  I am a lousy typist. Too many typing errors.  They would allow, oops here and there on edits, but when whatever paper, memo, letter made it to the final final stage, having all your edits in order, it was now ready for the Triplicate carbon copy final final stage.  

No errors allowed, because if an error was typed on a final final.  Ugh, you would still have to enter, staple, attach all copies into the paper trail book.  Mark a X in red permanent ink on all copies, noting this final final had an error.  The Secretaries would remind us lonely bottom Data Entry feeders. You made a ERROR on a final FINAL.   I was Data entry for a reason, the "professional" gal i.e. Secretaries were Gods on any electronic keyboard. Respectfully so, gosh I remember in amazement how their fingers would zip along the keyboards. Some would appear to type faster than the other, racing along, never hesitating or removing the eye from the form they were typing.  Nothing could disrupt them, however you could disturb them with your lingering or loitering.  They had not the time for dilly dally.  Curt, professional, steadfast.  State your business, move directly on. They would treat their bosses in the same manner.  

As I was saying, rarely would you receive an email, so when the printer sputtered to life, it would shake back/forth on the wimpy legs, make a ruckus as it sucked in the paper feeding from a large case located on the floor nestled underneath.   I nearly jumped out of my skin, each time because it seemed I would get an email sitting in a silent office concentrating on a contract revision.  

 One such occasion I received an email that said.  Hello, how's the weather on the 3rd floor today?  I looked around my lonely office, noting it's location was on the ground level of a 2 story building.   Hum,......