many, many times in my life I've been told I write like a girl. an article in the agn sports page today was referencing how, even today, Arnold Palmer of golf fame takes care that when he is asked for his autograph, it is legible. He referenced being taught to write with the Palmer method of handwriting. The article opines as to how most athletes autographs are such that they are so illegible as to be undecipherable.
Something I read on line referenced kids being taught the palmer handwriting method in fourth grade way back in the day. The years may well have fogged my memory's mirror but I've always given credit for my handwriting to my 5th grade teacher, Mrs. Sherrill. I was something of a teacher's pet in those days which made me eager to please her so I practiced my letters faithfully. the years have not been kind to my handwriting. although it has lost any resemblance to the palmer method of perfection, it remains quite easy to read, girly if you will.
i wonder when good handwriting ceased to be important. our youngest, the daughter, writes beautifully in cursive. both sons skip the cursive bit altogether and print anything they need to "write". even their printing can be hard to make out. our oldest son's signature consists of two capital Rs with extended tails for the letters following each. the middle son has reduced his signature to a single letter C with a long tail for the rest. the funny thing is that I would recognize all three signatures at a glance.
girly or not, I still owe a debt of gratitude to my fifth grade teacher. all that time I spent practicing my letters just to please her has served me in good stead. unlike Arnold Palmer, people aren't standing in line to get my autograph but by damn, if someone ever does ask me for one, they'll for sure be able to read that it's mine.
aio
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