Why We Keep What We Keep

Why We Keep What We Keep

It was at a yard sale somewhere. That’s where I bought it. Or maybe it was an antique shop someplace. I don’t remember. The portable Royal manual came in its own leather carrying case, the outside stained from someone’s black coffee or spilled wine. When I opened it, the machine’s slim style tricked me into believing it was rather lightweight. It wasn’t — all gray, brownish steel, and the heft of a big stack of hardback books. And it worked like…