I had some good courses in college.  But the most useful was a year long course on advanced first aid which ended with me getting a Civil Defense medical responder card (remember – this was 1966).  I thought – I’m an Eagle Scout – this’ll be a snap.  It was not.  But the knowledge gleaned from this course has come in very handy over the years.   

Of all the subjects I endured in high school — far and away the best course I ever took was typing.  It was called “touch typing” – a skill developed by Frank Edward McGurrin (a Salt Lake City court stenographer) in 1888.  Thank you, Mr. McGurrin!  I use this skill every day.  In abundance. . . . . 

I am able to type the way one was meant to type. Accurately. Fast.  Fingers flying (whooosh!).  None of this two finger business.  I often type my own letters, lengthy reports and loquacious emails at a speed of perhaps 60 words a minute with minimal error.  Rarely looking at the keyboard.  Typing.  What a value-added learning tool for a young person today.  But do schools teach typing the way they did?  I dunno but if not, it belongs on the menu. 

By the way – do you know the longest word in the English language that you can write using the letters on the top row of a typewriter or keyboard?  “Typewriter.”  Yep . . . .