MARTIN LUTHER, SHAKESPEARE & ARLENE RITCHEY

Did you know that Luther's sermons and Shakespeare's plays were initially captured in shorthand?


It's true, and although shorthand is rarely used today in business it was in it's heyday in 1940. That was the year my mom graduated from Carlisle High School and landed her first job. 

Even though her shorthand skills were superb, her first day on the job didn't go so well.  Turns out the boss called her in to dictate, but he had an accent that made him almost impossible to understand.  Since it was her first day, she didn't want to ask him to talk clearer and took shorthand as best she could.  Problem was, when she left his office for her typewriter she looked at the shorthand and couldn't read most of what he dictated.  And in a panic, she left the building and was too embarrassed to return. 

Since that time she has honed her skills and even at 92 years old can capture a letter in blazing shorthand speed.  I asked her to write something, and she wrote this in a few seconds....

Believe it or not, this says, "Now is the time for all good men to come to the aid of their Country."