219. Ball Point Pens

I like to write even when my writing isn’t that good, as is evidenced by this blog. That’s not, in itself, a particularly American thing, but the tools with which I write are. I am particularly fond of Bic ball point pens. The first draft (I know you’re reading this and probably finding it hard to believe that this isn’t the first draft) of this entry was written with a black Bic Ultra Bound Stic Grip. I’m equally as happy with just a clear plastic Bic, the kind where you can see through the plastic to the ink and you know how much ink you have left. The one I wrote this with was a Christmas gift in a package of ten. I will, most likely, use them all up in a couple of years running each one dry, maybe losing a couple here or there. Of course, I prefer a medium tip, and I’m not particularly concerned if the ink is blue or black.

I will, if required, use other pens but I’m not particularly fond of the kinds that are expensive and pretty, largely because they are hard to grip and I find them gradually pushing through my fingers until my fingertips are brushing the page. And I don’t want to waste money on something that I could easily lose. I don’t like writing with those pens that have a sort of felt-tippy type ball and the ink is easily smeared in the first few seconds after it hits the page. While I certainly find it romantic to think of writing with fountain pens or quill and ink, when I’ve tried it I found I spent too much time on adjusting the pen to keep from making splotches, and while the writing could look beautiful, it interfered with my thought processes, so, I returned very willingly to my Bic. I will also write with a number two pencil and feel fine about it, but I prefer the permanence of ink. So, while a nice yellow Ticonderoga pencil is good, I like the final results of my Bic.

A close second to a Bic is the British Biro, but they aren’t typically available in the US. In England and parts of the world where those types of pens are they don’t even call them anything else besides a Biro—it’s synonymous with ball point pen. In fact, if you ask for a pen you’ll either confuse them or make them think you are being quaint and old-fashioned. But I don’t want to get on a high horse here because we Yanks call tissues Kleenex and cellophane tape Scotch tape, so it’s a human branding thing as much as a language thing. But, obviously a Bic is the way for me to go when writing.

Another thing endearing about a Bic is the fact that they are available almost everywhere. They are the go-to brand at office supply stores or supermarkets. They are often imprinted with hotel names and certainly the type of pen you’ll find at every hotel desk. I blush to admit that I have a few Coeur d’Alene Casino Bic pens and a few Holiday Inn or other chain motel Bics. I’m more than happy to use those pens as they are perfect for me to hold and write with just like the one I first used to draft this blog entry.

I sometimes wonder if I would write as much if I had to use a fountain pen, but then I think back to when I used a typewriter and I know that I would. I have a school desk with holes for the ink wells, so I definitely pay my respects to the older methods of writing. And I’m just old enough to have experienced many of those methods as they were the only methods at the time. And pencils have been around for a very long time. I can imagine writing with a Ticonderoga on a regular basis. I can also imagine myself dipping the metal tip of a fountain pen into an ink well and blotting the excess with my blotter, but I don’t have to. I have a Bic and I love writing with it.