My Pen Collection

By Carol Elek, NC

I've been called a pen snob and accused of being possessive over my collection of ink pens. I love my pens! They actually are fairly inexpensive and cost no more than five dollars. Many of them are the ceramic style with delightful designs (Cocoa-Cola, Egyptian, flowers) and I have a NASA pen that writes upside down and my currently favorite pen called Ph.D. by Parker that has a wonderful grip to it. The list is endless because I am always looking for my next pen to buy.

There is an old comedy skit from the Canadian show ' Kids In the Hall' that my daughter says describes my quirky pen personality. In the first scene you see a man walking up to a co-workers desk and asks to borrow his pen. So, he obliges but reminds him to return the pen when he is finished. Naturally the guy walks off with it.

In the next scene you see the man running after him calling, "My pen, you've got my pen!" But at that point the pen pilferer is pulling away in a car. Now in hot pursuit he chases after the car screaming, "My Pen, you've got my pen!" Staring back in disbelief is the Bic burglar.

The final scene shows the man back at his desk, pen in hand. Another potential pen pilferer asks to borrow his pen. He looks up at him and casually says, "Sure." Only this time the pen has a chain and it is firmly attached to a headpiece on the man's head so the pen cannot get very far. I am thinking, that is a great idea!

I am guilty myself of becoming irate with people borrowing and not returning my pen. But I have also been known to hunt you down for not returning it and lamenting, "My pen, you've got my pen."