No Funeral For Handwriting - Quite Yet

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Domesday_Book
A recent newspaper article cited the demise and near death of handwriting. This is not the first time that writing and, essentially, any handcraft has been "lost".
Sure, there is Tupperware and cheap stoneware - but the gifted and determined Seagrove potters that turn out beautiful art in clay and porcelain in NC will continue to do so. So nobody tell THEM that their art is dead.
I see people stitching and sewing and see announcements about shows of quilts. THEY don't know that you can buy a Snuggie and look like a fool watching TV and getting your guacamole and cheese dip all over yourself. Of course you can clean your Snuggie with a Sham-WOW and have at your chili-cheese dog and other slap-it-on-your-thighs and stick-it-in-your-heart snacks. I see the next BIG 800 number seller is going to be a BIBBIE for your SNUGGIE. Some of you might have a lap dog, not for sitting in you lap, but for lapping up all the stuff you've dropped.
Cloth can come from just about anywhere, but some pretty special stuff is still being made in England in a place called the Cotswolds. They might make a very special wool $3000 Camelot Snug-A-Lot.
There is a plethora of books and they are in print and online - but I am waiting for more good writing. Great writers abound. Good books are still being written and people are discovering why classics are called classics.
Well, back to handwriting.
Just Google IAMPETH and decide the real condition of handwriting. You can also look on YouTube and find thousands of examples of calligraphy. (Even my videos have a small following and have had a few thousand views.)
People still buy "calligraphy" kits and, sadly, because they make little progress on their own, they put the kits away and stop trying to write beautifully. Classes are offered - mine through Wake Tech and, of course, privately. Don King and Tim Havey also offer classes. So, the Triangle is not without opportunities to learn good handwriting and decorative lettering techniques.
In reality, there are tens of thousands of people who write legibly and well.
The reference at the top of this post is a link to information about The Domesday (Doomsday) Book. Richard the Conqueror wanted to know just what he had conquered in 1066. He had everything in Great Britain counted that could be counted down to the last pig and duck. That way he could tax them. By the time the books (there were actually 2 of them and the little book was bigger than the other) were done, England was truly Norman - Germanic and very little was left of the Angles or Celts. The book is still in existence and can be accessed online. It was handwritten and was one of the very first documents ever to be photographed - in the mid 1860s. More history, imagine that. The book is a testament to the power of having things written down.
Palmer and Zaner-Bloser students like myself abound. Plus, there are many people who passed through the Catholic school systems where good handwriting was expected.
My classes through Wake Tech crank up again in January. You bring your Snuggie, I'll have the exemplars, ink and share the enthusiasm for well-made letters. © tim www.timjohnsonphoto.com