The Notebook: Always and Forever
Thursday, October 6, 2011 at 02:03PM 
As much as I rely on Evernote, Google Docs, and other cloud-based writing programs, I will always be a notebook guy.
Here's the reason why.
A trip down to the basement last night uncovered my old high school loose-leaf. Littered with band names from yesteryear (Ned's Atomic Dustbin!) and random notes of youthful silliness, the denim-lined binder was able to conjure up feelings inside of me that a flat electronic screen never could. I can touch it and be transported back to the 10th grade. Thumbing through the pages I can recall what it felt like to skip out on the prom; I can smell the sauerkraut stench of the school cafeteria; I remember kicking glass bottles with my wanna-be Doc Marten steel-toe boots in the schoolyard; My dad droppping me off in the rain; Most of all, I remember dreams about how easy life would be when I was a "real" adult. Ha! Was I wrong!
When I flip through old notebooks, I often shudder at some of the ideas I've scribbled down and some of the stories I have written. I realize now the world doesn't need disposable door knobs on bathroom doors and that the seeds for my novel about the kids trapped in the mall will never sprout. But that's cool. Every now and then I find something old that I feel I could have written today. The poem below, circa 1992, is the perfect example.
What's the point? The point is to hold on to your pens, friends. I have a hunch that 20 years from now our electronic notes will not resonate the same way. And that's why I'm holding on to my paper and pen, right next to my iPad2.
loose-leaf binder, memories in Nostalgia
Reader Comments (1)
This poem touched me profoundly. I just related to it....in this precise moment of my life.
I started searching for some information... meanwhile I was asking a question to myself...and then, I found the answer coded in this poem. Thank you for sharing your life experiences. Thank you for your ART.