RE: New Poll Question / Introduction

["Joe Malin" <jmalin -at- tuvox -dot- com>]

When I first started working out of college, I was the assistant to one
of my company's top sales/support people, a wonderful woman named Joy.
She and I supported a large corporation in downtown.

The IT director for that company was from South Africa. He was a nice
guy but very conservative and old-fashioned. When Joy first started as
the sales rep, she was working on something late one night and this
gentleman came out and asked her to type something for him! Joy looked
him right in the eye and said "I am a sales woman and engineer, *not* a
*typist*. Never ask me to do your clerical work *again*." He never did.

Joy told me this story, but I got it confirmed from other people in the
office. Most of them were completely intimidated by Joy, but I had a big
crush on her! Alas, at the time she was having an affair with the head
of sales at my company.

Boy those were odd days. I had to wear three-piece suits every day to
work. It was in Philadelphia, and in winter weather a three-piece suit
was often practical. I remember standing on the street corner waiting
for a trolley when the temperature was a balmy 0 degrees F.


Joe

Joe Malin
Technical Writer
(408)625-1623
jmalin -at- tuvox -dot- com 
www.tuvox.com
The views expressed in this document are those of the sender, and do not
necessarily reflect those of TuVox, Inc.	

-----Original Message-----
From: Clare Turner [mailto:cturner -at- redflex -dot- com] 
Sent: Monday, December 19, 2005 8:53 AM
To: Joe Malin; TECHWR-L
Subject: RE: New Poll Question / Introduction

Interestingly, when I was a sophomore in HS (in Mormon-dominated Mesa,
AZ), I was *required* to take typing as a GRADUATION requirement - BUT!
only the GIRLS had this requirement...needless to say I was not happy,
but took the class as I had no choice.

After I went into the AF as a telecom engineer, I steadfastly denied
being able to type - for the simple reason that I figured as a female
second lieutenant, I'd be reduced to a pseudo-secretary if I admitted I
could type (not to infer any inferiority of secretaries, but in 1979, I
was 1 of only 2 female officers assigned to my engineering unit of over
1000...I didn't WANT to be a secretary, I wanted to be accepted as an
equal with the male 2nd-looies).  Anywho - I actually had people argue
with me that as a female I MUST know how to type!  And, every time I had
one of the men ask me to type something, I'd respond with "I don't know
how to type - maybe Lt. Smith (male, of course) could do that for you".
Got me lots of very strange looks, I must say.

I'd gotten married in the meantime, and swore my husband to secrecy (as
I could touch-type, of course).  

After PCs became more than just expensive techie-toys, I was very glad
I'd been forced to take the typing class and learn to touch-type.  


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