The keyboard font Times New Roman is used for business and professional writing. When a sixth grader does a PowerPoint presentation, he or she wants to go big. Rockwell Extra Bold was a favorite of many of my ambitious 12-year-olds. A few students chose an understated Calibri Light or Bookman Old Style. Even I am subject to the whim of selecting a font. When composing a more informal email or letter, my choice is Comic Sans MS, which mimics my own handwriting.
Our actions and words could take a hint from the effectiveness of choosing certain keyboard fonts. It is vital that we know how to respond professionally at certain times. It is natural to find a comfort and security with what we know. But interesting things can happen when we step out of our comfort zones and try something new. I have tried to make myself do this since my early forties, when I dropped some self-imposed shackles.
Today, my playlist shuffle goes from Loretta Lynn’s “Fist City” to Yo Yo Ma’s cello to Merle and Aaron Copland. I picked up my grandmother’s routine and found a favorite “story” to watch on my lunch break (“Days of Our Lives”), although I am now way behind due to no cable TV. (Is Bo still dead?) Some of my debate students helped me appreciate the humor and satire in “Family Guy” and then marvel at all the Marvel movies. And remember, I fell in love with Asian food right here in Rotan, Texas, after all those years of denial.
We get to choose from so many options. I have preferences, as you do, but it is a treat for me to “change the fonts” from time to time. I don’t have to know who wrote or even understand the words in an opera. I just know when I hear those powerful voices, it moves me. A toe-tapping song with a fiddle does the same. When I read a Mary Oliver poem, I am not thinking about rhythm or rhyme or the lack of—just that her verses touch something in my heart. Soccer rules are foreign to me, but when there is a shootout at the end, I swear it is the tensest moment in all of sports.
Go fishing at a stock tank. Go fishing in a Ranger Z520R Z Comanche.
Throw a line in the ocean on a sportfishing yacht.
Try a variety of “fonts” as you draft your own story. Doing so will make for an enjoyable read.
Snyder, Texas, native Sue Jane Sullivan is a retired schoolteacher whose thought-provoking commentary appears occasionally in several West texas newspapers, including The Texas Spur and The Caprock Courier.
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