WHY WRITE???

"Why do I spend so much of my time at this broken down typewriter? Isn't it just a big waste of time? I could be watching television or get into a game of cards or some other recreation. And what is so great about writing? There is an answer and I will try and tell you about it in the following paragraphs.
Something happens to the inner side of me when I sit down to type. I just get completely lost in what I am doing. It is just like I have entered a different world. My imagination is at its highest peak. I am kind of floating in a sea of thought. I am lost in thought, please don't disturb.
The spoken word is very volatile. It disappears into the atmosphere and does not stay with us. It is gone until spoken again. It only has instant impact. Words are usually soon forgotten.
A written message is different, it does not disappear and can not be altered, unless rewritten. Interpretationsby others might differ, but the wording remains the same.
Some times I have an instant desire to say something, but when I do say it it doesn't come out right. What I say and what I mean are often different. I am not a good speaker. But, let me at this old keyboard biding my time, I think I do a better job of expressing my true feelings. Some thing just builds up inside of me and my one finger just keeps telling what I am thinking. I think I do a lot better when this old machine and I are to-gether. We get along. I just love to type. Ideas come easier when I do.
I wish I had found this out earlier in my life."
-Rolland Bartells