You Can't Make Me Learn to Thumb Type

I learned to touch-type in middle school. A strict, no-nonsense typing teacher perched on a tall stool and verbally commanded the sequence of home row keys we were to type. The bells of a room full of manual typewriters rang together to signal the end of each line, and we all returned our carriages with firm swipes of the right hand. At the end of class, the teacher praised polite young men who carried their typewriters back to the storage area and then returned to transport the machines of the young ladies. My friends and I thought this was very funny because we all knew we could certainly hoist our own machines. Looking back, the typing class stands out for its usefulness. I type all the time. But, I just can't get the hang of thumb typing. Entering a note or calendar item on my phone using the minuscule pop-up keyboard and my thumbs is beyond laborious. I really would rather write it down with pencil and paper. I've covered small notebooks with fabric before and sold them as stocking stuffers. Now I'm trying larger notebooks. These composition books have the potential to show off larger or pieced prints. Inside I included an open pocket for receipts or random scraps of information. My mother suggested a ribbon in the top seam for a bookmark.