I first became aware of Ralph Nader when I was a teenager.
I had recently passed my driving test and got my driver’s license. Alright! Now, if I played my cards right, I would have access to my mom’s car. I thought that piece of paper was my ticket to freedom, but it turns out it was an opportunity for my mom to bargain the occasional use of her car only if I acceded to became a sometimes taxi driver, grocery shopper, and general errand boy.
Well-played, Mom.
My sometimes freedom ride was a red 1965 Chevrolet Corvair. The same model that figures so prominently in Nader’s best-seller, “Unsafe At Any Speed.” The book essentially argued that American automakers at that time were producing vehicles that were deathtraps. The Corvair exemplified the dangers that American drivers faced. Although some of the evidence later proved to be not true, the damage was done and the Corvair was discontinued by 1969. Our little red car had been replaced well before that.
Over the decades Ralph Nader’s name occasionally entered my consciousness as he continues his role as crusader/activist/gadfly for consumer protection and environmentalism as well as a regular candidate for U.S. President. Recently I just read that he is on another crusade. This campaign is because his favorite writing utensil, the Paper Mate Flair, isn’t as good as the old version. Specifically, he claims the new Flairs dry out quicker than the old Flairs.
I read about this kerfuffle online at Wirecutter, a product review website. It seems Mr. Nader has written to the site several times about this issue. He also has written to Paper Mate which apparently dismisses his concerns. He has been using Flairs for decades to annotate newspaper articles and insists the new ones are not up to snuff. Wirecutter posited several theories and did exhaustive tests, but could not come up with a satisfying answer to the problem, if, in fact, it even is a problem.
I have no opinion on the changing quality of Flair pens, but I must say I am with Mr. Nader in spirit. I too have found that I tend to favor certain writing utensils, and I know others who also are particular about the type of writing tool they use. I won’t say I am as obsessive as some people, but I know that when I put pen or pencil to paper, I want to be using an implement that is comfortable in my hand and makes a line that flows solidly and smoothly across the page.
I have gone through several writing instrument preferences over the years. As a schoolboy, I loved using pens with ink cartridges. They were pretty messy, and being left-handed I often smeared what I wrote. I would come home with ink all over me which caused some problems with my mom. These days when I opt for a pen, it is a Pilot Precise V5 RT. (This is a pen Wirecutter recommended to Ralph Nader as a replacement. Apparently, he didn’t care for it.)
For a good while now I have been leaning towards pencils over pens. It could be that my handwriting, never great to begin with, has gotten worse over time. Pencils give me the chance to erase what I wrote, an underrated writing strategy in itself. During my last years as a teacher, I swore by Paper Mate Mirado Black Warriors HB #2 wooden pencils. I still think they are some of the best out there. These days I find a Bic Velocity HB #2 mechanical pencil also does a nice job.
A good pen or pencil is a treasure in itself. It is sometimes difficult to find just the right one. I look for many things in a decent pencil. Erasers, for example. Don’t get me started on pencil erasers. I might have to go all Ralph Nader on the subject.
Norman Knight, a retired Clark-Pleasant Middle School teacher, writes this weekly column for the Daily Journal. Send comments to [email protected].
