This is a story I\u2019m sure Claire would remember very well \u2014 we talked about it a few times over the years.
When we were in Manila, Claire served as the finance officer for our office. Shortly after we had arrived, she requested a new typewriter \u2014 the one in her office looked like it was about fifty years old. Apparently whoever had the job before Claire didn\u2019t type, because it looked like it had been doing nothing but gathering dust for a while.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The request for the new typewriter was made through the embassy, as was the common practice. For some reason the embassy decided to procure a typewriter locally, rather than via headquarters in Washington. They purchased a brand new typewriter locally \u2014 it looked like the IBM Selectrics that most everyone used back then, but it was not made in the US, or by IBM. I think it may have been made in France, but I\u2019m not sure. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
But anyway, Claire was happy \u2014 for about a day. The new typewriter just didn\u2019t seem to work\u2026 \u00bd spaces between letters, letters overlapping each other, and all sorts of problems. She complained and the boss told her to call a repairman. That proved to be easier said than done \u2014 it seems that no one was able to locate a typewriter repairman in all of the Philippines. Finally, I asked one of the Filipinos that worked in the warehouse to find a repairman. He said he knew someone and shortly, the typewriter repairman showed up. But \u2014 there was a small issue. The repairman didn\u2019t speak any English and no one in the office knew more than a few words of Tagalog. So I called our guy from the warehouse, who acted as an interpreter. The repairman asked what the problem was and the \u2018interpreter\u201d explained it. He then asked Claire to show him what was happening. Claire sat down and started typing \u2014 after a couple of minutes, the repairman started yelling, and waving his arms and Claire Stopped typing. Our guy from the warehouse conferred with the repairman and then started laughing. The repairman had said that Claire was typing much too fast \u2014 the typewriter\u2019s ball with the letters \u2014 couldn\u2019t turn that fast. She just needed to slow down. Claire, by now none too happy, asked how \u201cslow” should she type? The repairman demonstrated, and according to Claire, his typing would be considered \u201chunt and peck\u201d at best.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
When we told that story, Claire always said it was the first, and probably only, time she had ever been told to work slower.
\u2014 30 \u2014<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
This is a story I\u2019m sure Claire would remember very well \u2014 we talked about it a few times over the years.When we were in Manila, Claire served as the finance officer for our office. Shortly after we had arrived, … Continue reading