Page 28 —
COLORADO REAL ESTATE JOURNAL
— September 16-October 6, 2015
C
ursive writing is
the evolution of
penmanship and the
result of the necessity
to write faster because of the
writing instruments of the time.
Cursive appeared somewhere
around 1600 and increasingly
grew in popularity. Today, fewer
than 15% of students taking
the SAT completed the essay
portion in cursive.
I can recite the advantages
of cursive to include enhanced
brain function, academic
performance, higher skill
development and more. But
I want to make my case for
cursive personal. Cursive
writing is as unique as each
of us and is art. A beautiful
expression of who we are
individually. The fonts found on
the computer were derived from
cursive handwriting. Fonts are
perfect and uniform and easy to
read. But they are not personal!
Learning to write cursive was
a big deal! It was a step toward
adulthood, something akin to
getting my driver’s license or
first date.
Perhaps cursive is no longer
necessary or practical. But what
would the signatures on the
Declaration of Independence
look like if they were selected
from a list of fonts. I haven’t
seen any signature that would
compare to that of John
Hancock, his or ours!
Cursive writing is not always
uniform and easy to read, but
a special person wrote their
message and sent it to me
and shared their thoughts
with me in
cursive. There
is something
lost if denied
the challenge
to copy our
parent’s
signature so we
can sign our
report cards
and excuse
our absences
from school.
The cursive handwriting of our
parents defined them and is
more than connected letters, it
taught us values and caused us
to acknowledge who they were.
OK, a bit carried away. Here is
what I want you to think about.
My recipe box sits on my
kitchen counter and is stuffed
with recipes from friends,
family, friends of friends and
friends of family. You get the
idea, it is literally stuffed
full. You might suggest that I
organize my recipes and either
scan them or key them into
a document on my laptop or
tablet. A great suggestion and
one I have considered many
times.
The recipes in my recipe box
tell a story, my story. The recipes
are written in the handwriting
of my grandmothers; women
who long ago have died and
entrusted me with these scraps
of paper and recipe cards that
are tattered, torn and blemished
by ingredients from the recipe. I
found a recipe my grandmother
had sent to me when I was 22.
My sister and I were trying to
figure out how to make Italian
delicacies, a family tradition
that began in Italy many
generations ago. The recipe
came in a letter telling us in
detail how to make the perfect
confection. You know, we have it
dialed and the tradition is alive
and well. What is important to
me is that the recipe was part of
her monthly letter to me. I read
that letter at least once a year,
each time I make these Italian
delicacies.
I was sorting through my
keepsake box that is, yes stuffed
full of cards, cards that date
back to grade school, cards that
are full of good wishes and kind
thoughts and signed by someone
dear to me. Tucked inside a
thank you card was a letter
written by my grandfather.
While my grandmother wrote
faithfully, up until receiving
this card and letter, I wasn’t
sure that my grandfather knew
how to write! But he wrote
me a letter thanking me for a
birthday gift. My grandfather
was born in 1912 and died in
1999. His letter takes me to
many happy and memorable
places I shared with him as a
child and as an adult.
So, that is my case for
cursive. Perhaps not what you
might have expected, but an
argument to encourage you to
make certain your children and
grandchildren create something
wonderful through cursive
communication. What about
you? Create a memory, leave
a legacy and write a letter ‘in
cursive’ to someone who means
the world to you.
Debra Scifo
ASAC Executive
Director
Visit
for more information & registration
SEPTEMBER
15
Construction Industry Networking / 7:00 a.m.
16
Contract Study ~ Design Liability/8:00-9:00 a.m.
23-24
STP –Unit 3 Planning & Scheduling/8am-5 pm
24
Contractor Breakfast Interchange/7:30-9:30 a.m.
24
ASAC & NUCA Clay Shoot/noon-4:30 pm
OCTOBER
15
CPR/First Aid Certification/1:00-5:00 pm
20
Construction Industry Networking / 7:00 a.m.
22
Contractor Breakfast Interchange/7:30-9:30 am
29
3rd Annual Health & Safety Summit/7:30 a.m.—3:30 p.m.
NOVEMBER
12-13
STP—Unit 2 Communication/8am-5 pm
17
Construction Industry Networking / 7:00 a.m.
18
Contract Study ~ Indemnity & Insurance/8:00-9:00 a.m.
DECEMBER
15
Construction Industry Networking /7:00 a.m.
16
Contract Study ~ Change Order Claims for Scope and Timing/8:00-9:00 a.m.
17
Lift Inspection Certification/8:00 a.m.-Noon
CALENDAR
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ASAC LEADERSHIP
ASAC President
Rusty Plowman
Delta Drywall, Inc.
Vice President
Carl Cox III
Excel Environmental, Inc.
ASAC Past President
Diane Hills
Diamond Excavating, Inc.
ASAC Treasurer
Richard Forsberg
Forsberg Engerman
Secretary
Mark Hohlen
Platinum Renovations
Director
Jim Donaldson
A.I.A. Industries, Inc.
Director
Mark Hohlen
Platinum Renovations
Director
Troy Tinberg
AllPhase Landscape, Inc.
Director
Don Appleby
Holmes Murphy
ASAC Executive Director
Debra L Scifo
ASAC Chapter Attorney
Mark Gruskin
Senn Visciano Canges
ASAC Lobbyist
Kristen Thomson
Heizer Paul, LLC
ASAC Chapter Development
Peter Scifo
OBS Consultants
ASAC Officer of Special Events
Melissa Ryman
ASAC Event Coordinator
Jamie Martin
