THE END.

1960 Royal Heritage

Transcribed below. The typewriter is a 1960 Royal Heritage.

The End.

You ask us, “But then must there be an end?”
We answer, Yes: it’s useless to pretend.
All things must end. These verses that we penned
(Or typed), as everyone must apprehend,
May, with a little bit of luck, ascend
To mediocrity, but then descend
(No matter how we alter and amend)
Below the point where you would recommend
That we abandon ship. This downward trend
Effectively forbids us to extend
Our verse beyond its welcome. So we spend
A month in rhyming, then resume the blend
Of prose and verse and pictures we intend
To make our usual fare. Thus we suspend
The poetry while you are still our friend.

. 3 comments.

Comments

  1. KevinT says:
    February 28, 2025 at 8:56 am

    What’s with the blank keys on this machine (and the one on Feb. 26)? I assume the larger ones closest to the typist are Shift keys, but does the typist need to press/hold the smaller blank key to find out what function it performs? Could the function be assigned by the user, similar to the way that the keys on a computer keyboard can be reassigned at will?

    Reply
    • Dr. Boli says:
      February 28, 2025 at 9:06 am

      The smaller blank key is the shift lock, which not coincidentally is in the same position as “Caps Lock” on a computer keyboard. It moves a tab into position to hold down the shift key, more or less the way the hold-open latch works at a gas pump. Push it again, or push either shift key, and the tab is disengaged.

      A shift lock works a little differently from “Caps Lock.” It simply holds down the shift key, so all the shifted characters are activated, whereas “Caps Lock” turns on the capital letters but leaves the numbers and punctuation unshifted. People who grew up with typewriters often had trouble adapting to the more complex behavior of “Caps Lock.”

      Reply
  2. KevinT says:
    February 28, 2025 at 8:13 pm

    Now that you mention it, I do remember the Shift Lock key. Old age is getting in the way of my fond memories of high school typing class in the early ’70s.

    Reply

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