1.9 How Daddy learned to write
A bedtime story from 'When Daddy was a little boy' by Alexander Raskin
A story from a dad’s childhood, narrated to his daughter, written in 1961. Read the introduction below.
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HOW DADDY LEARNED TO WRITE
When Daddy was little he learned how to read very quickly. They said, "This is 'A' and this is 'B'", and he learned all the letters. It was lots of fun. He began reading books and not just looking at the pictures. But he didn't want to learn how to write at all.
Little Daddy didn't want to learn how to hold his pen correctly. But he didn't want to hold it the wrong way, either. What he wanted to do was read, not write. It was fun to read and very boring to write.
But little Daddy's parents said: "If you won't write, you won't read!"
And they added: "Now write those letters!"
All day long, from morning to night, that was all little Daddy heard. And every day he would write the letters, feeling terribly disgusted.
His letters were hideous. They were crooked and hunch-backed. Little Daddy himself hated to look at them.
Yes, the letters were just a mess. But the ink blots were beautiful. No one could make such large and lovely ink blots as he. Everyone agreed. And if only people would learn to write by making blots, little Daddy would have had the best handwriting in the world.
Not a single letter was straight up and down. Each page was covered with huge, beautiful blots. Little Daddy was shamed and scolded. They made him rewrite each letter two or three times. But the more he wrote, the worse it looked and the bigger the blots were.
And he could not understand why they were torturing him. After all, he knew how to read words. Now he wanted to write words, not single letters. But they said you couldn't write a word if you couldn't write letters. He did not believe them. When he finally went to school, everyone was surprised at how well he read and how poorly he wrote. His handwriting was worse than anyone else's in the whole class.
Many years passed. Little Daddy grew up. He still loves to read and hates to write. His handwriting is so terrible that many people think he's doing it on purpose.
Sometimes Daddy feels very embarrassed.
He went to the Post Office the other day and the clerk said: "Don't you know how to write?"
Daddy was offended.
"Certainly I do!"
"Well, what letter's this supposed to be?" the clerk asked. "That's a 'U’," Daddy said in a voice that was close to a whisper.
"A 'U'? Who writes a 'U' like that?"
"I do," Daddy mumbled.
Oh, how Daddy wishes he had a beautiful, clear handwriting now, so he could write without blots! How he wishes he had learned to hold his pen correctly! How sorry he is that he did not practise writing his letters enough! But it's too late now. And it's all his own fault.
THE END
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