Past, Present and Future

Past, present and future, I wander around in these time zones. As I grow older I find myself moving backwards in some parts of life, treading water in the present, and not all that concerned about the future.


A recent move to the past was the purchase a Sansui DR 5000 reel-to-reel tape recorder. It’s a beauty, and it works. Analog has a different sound than digital. Warmth is what is most often associated with analog. Music recorded through analog has a different sound, and feel than the same thing done digital. Luckily I have a beautiful old Sansui amplifier that will be powering it, and some great old Advent speakers to round out the system. Its main purpose is for self-recording my own music, original compositions and various covers.

There have been a few other acquisitions over the past year or so that have a tendency to drift towards the past. I love writing, and something that has made it more fun for me was the purchase of a couple of fountain pens. One has a fine point; the other has a medium point. I didn’t know that there is an entire community of fountain pen fanatics out there.

Fountain pens add a complete new dimension to writing. I pick up the pen and I can feel the heft of it. Varying your grip on the pen gives your handwriting a different look. Either leaving the cap on and moving it, or leaving it off gives the pen a completely different feel and form. Ink comes in various colors, and it has a slight aroma. There is also the ritual of filling the pen, a small ritual granted, but like all rituals it has a place and importance in the process. It takes writing back to a personal, emotional, planned routine. It also slows writing down, so when I use the pen there is more time to think, and plan.

I’ll continue down this path in the near future. One of my goals is to keep this blog readable, and I think a step in that direction is to also keep entries a little shorter. That’s todays plan at least, I’m sure it will change in the future.